DOH urges COVID-19 testing labs to stay open during Holy Week

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health (DOH) has appealed to COVID-19 testing laboratories to continue their operations during the Holy Week holidays to guarantee the uninterrupted monitoring of new coronavirus cases.

“Nakikiusap kami sa ating lahat ng laboratoryo (We are appealing to all laboratories). Because of this increase in the number of cases that we are experiencing, we implore to all of our laboratories, please do not close your laboratories because this [is] the holiday season,” Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in an online briefing Wednesday.

“Kailangan lang po tayong bukas para magkaroon pa rin ng tuloy-tuloy na pagmomonitor nitong mga kasong pumapasok,” she added.

(Laboratories should continue to operate so that we will have continuous monitoring of new cases.)

She said the DOH has issued a memorandum tasking regional directors to ensure testing laboratories will still operate this week.

In January, DOH attributed the low number of new cases to the closure of some laboratories and people’s postponing of tests during the Christmas and New Year season.

As of March 30, the country has recorded a total of 741,181 COVID-19 cases, including 124,680 active infections, 603,310 recovered patients, and 13,191 fatalities. The Philippines’ had its highest single-day rise in new COVID-19 infections on March 29 at 10,016.

KGA