Pampanga hospital eyed as COVID-19 test center

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO –– The Jose B. Lingad Regional Memorial Hospital (JBLMRH) in this Pampanga capital is being evaluated as a possible testing center for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Central Luzon, according to the Department of Health (DOH).

A DOH team is reviewing the hospital’s design and workflow, which is Stage 1 of the process, said Cesar Cassion, DOH regional director. JBLMRH is operated by the agency.

The last review stage or Stage 5 would determine if its laboratory is compliant with the standards set by the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM), Cassion said.

“The target (for completing the evaluation) is within this April,” Cassion said, correcting reports that JBLMRH is preparing to conduct mass testing on April 10.

As of April 3, the number of testing centers in Luzon and Visayas has risen to eight, according to Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles, spokesperson of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Disease.

The samples from Central Luzon patients are tested in RITM or the Lung Center, Cassion said. Should the JBLMRH be ready to handle tests, he said patients under investigation for the virus would be prioritized.

Aurora has zero COVID-19 cases. But Bataan has 23; Bulacan, 46; Nueva Ecija, 28; Pampanga and Angeles City, 25; Tarlac, 20; Zambales, 7; and Olongapo City, 4.

Edited by LZB