Vice President Leni Robredo oversees the preparations for the formal launch of the Swab Cab, the Office of the Vice President’s latest initiative to help local governments in Metro Manila conduct efficient community based testing, in order to identify positive cases faster for contact tracing and isolation. Photo by Charlie Villegas/OVP
MANILA, Philippines — The Office of the Vice President’s (OVP) mobile COVID-19 testing initiative — a mobile swab testing facility mounted in a bus — is ready for its launch on Tuesday, the OVP confirmed.
Photos from the OVP on Monday showed Vice President Leni Robredo herself checking the final preparations, before the Swab Cab starts operating and testing individuals from communities around Metro Manila.
For Tuesday, the Swab Cab’s first stop is in Malabon City.
The inside of the Swab Cab swabbing facility. Photo from the Office of the Vice President
The OVP said that this plan would help local governments identify cases early on, and prevent localized transmissions and avoid cases from piling up.
“Vice President Leni Robredo on Monday morning (March 29, 2021) oversaw the preparations for the formal launch of Swab Cab, the Office of the Vice President’s latest initiative to help local governments in Metro Manila conduct efficient community based testing, in order to identify positive cases faster for contact tracing and isolation,” OVP said in a statement.
“The pilot run of the initiative will start on Tuesday in Malabon City, in partnership with its local government, and Angat Buhay partners Kaya Natin Movement and UBE Express,” it added.
Robredo announced previously that the Swab Cab would run from March 30 to April 6, in areas with reports of high COVID-19 transmissions. Earlier, the Vice President lamented the low number of COVID-19 tests done despite another record-breaking day in terms of new infections.
READ: Robredo: Data on vacant COVID-19 hospital beds far from reality on the ground
The country is currently dealing with an upsurge in COVID-19 cases, especially in Metro Manila, Bulacan, Laguna, and Cavite — areas placed under an enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).
With the record-high increase, the Philippines now has 115,495 active infections — even with over 22,000 recoveries recorded on Sunday.
READ: PH breaks record for new COVID-19 cases again with 10,016 infections
READ: Metro Manila, 4 provinces under ECQ due to COVID-19 surge — Palace