Gov’t to ramp up RT-PCR testing, vaccinations, bed capacities

RT-PCR Testing for COVID-19 (INQUIRER FILE PHOTO)

MANILA, Philippines — The government will be increasing COVID-19 testing, vaccination, and hospital bed capacities as the country continues to grapple with record-high COVID-19 infections.

Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles, also the acting presidential spokesperson, said the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) sub-technical working group (sTWG) on data analytics has recommended that reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests be ramped up.

“Additionally, the IATF sTWG on Data Analytics has recommended the following to the COVID-19 Laboratory Network: (1) Increase RT-PCR testing capacity in NCR Plus areas so as to handle the influx of tests by ensuring that laboratories are operational seven days a week,” Nograles said in a statement.

NCR Plus is composed of the National Capital Region and the nearby provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Bulacan, and Rizal.

The sTWG is also pushing to prioritize the testing of senior citizens and persons with comorbidities.

The group also advised to “fast-track applications for Licenses to Operate for new RT-PCR laboratories and promptly provide commodities for swabbing and testing.”

The National Vaccination Operations Center, meanwhile, was tasked to boost vaccination rates outside Metro Manila immediately.

To address the rising hospital care utilization rate, the National Task Force (NTF) Health Facilities Sub-Cluster should implement a hike in the availability of bed capacity in NCR Plus.

The NTF is also directed to “coordinate with the relevant stakeholders to integrate monitoring of the capacity of Temporary Treatment and Monitoring Facilities (TTMFs) in its measurement of health systems capacity; ensure that patients needing care are promptly and appropriately referred; and reassess the capacity of TTMFs, increase TTMF capacity where needed, and remove any referral quotas from hospitals.”

The NTF and the Department of Health (DOH) Field Implementation and Coordination Team were instructed to talk to hospitals in Metro Manila to determine how the COVID-19 bed capacity is being allocated.

The DOH Knowledge Management and Information Technology Service and the NTF are responsible for raising the telehealth capacity and telemedicine outside the capital region.

The One Hospital Command, on the other hand, must “ensure as close to real-time updating of health systems capacity as possible based on functional bed capacity to take into consideration the level of available health care workers.”

The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Community Response Cluster must guarantee that Emergency Operations Centers with functional triage areas are in place.

“These shall oversee patient navigation so that only those needing hospitalization are brought to the health facilities,” Nograles said.

They shall also ensure that Barangay Health Emergency Response Teams are monitoring those in home isolation or quarantine, and testing, treatment, and facility referral be available to those belonging to the vulnerable sectors.

The DILG and the Community Response Cluster must also “intensify active case finding in the NCR Plus areas and to intensify active case finding and contact tracing strictly up to the 3rd generation in all areas under Alert Level 2.”

The IATF sTWG recommendations are approved and for implementation, Nograles said.

The DOH this day logged 28,707 new COVID-19 cases, the highest daily tally since the pandemic started.

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