PH receives 3,000 COVID-19 test kits from Singapore

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine government on Tuesday received 3,000 diagnostic test kits for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) from Singapore.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said that he received the test kits as well as a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) machine this afternoon.

“I received this afternoon a donation from the Singapore government of 3,000 COVID-19 diagnostic test kits and one polymerase chain reaction (PCR) machine,” Locsin said in a tweet.

“The equipment was personally handed to me by Ambassador Gerard Ho Wei Hong.  Thank you, Singapore!” he added.

https://twitter.com/teddyboylocsin/status/1242332118438391808

China and South Korea earlier donated test kits to the Philippines.

On March 21, the Philippine government received supplies for health personnel include 100,000 test kits, 100,000 surgical masks, 10,000 N95 masks and 10,000 sets of personal protective equipment from China.

The Department of Health (DOH) said that confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in the Philippines has soared to 501 as of Tuesday morning.

COVID-19 is a respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus that first emerged in China’s city of Wuhan in Hubei province in late 2019.

The International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses named the novel coronavirus as SARS-CoV-2.

The virus causes mild symptoms such as fever and cough for most people but can cause serious illness such as pneumonia for others, especially older adults and people with existing health problems.

Coronavirus is a family of viruses, which surfaces have a crown-like appearance. The viruses are named for the spikes on their surfaces.