Taguig City sets up barangay-based, drive-thru COVID-19 testing

MANILA, Philippines — The Taguig City government will launch on Wednesday its Barangay-based and “drive-thru” COVID-19 testing to further expand its testing strategy.

In a statement, Mayor Lino Cayetano said the new initiatives would complement the city’s Systematic Mass Approach to Responsible Testing (SMART), which has so far tested nearly 1,000 individuals through its on-call COVID-19 service.

The city government said it would train personnel in its 31 health centers and three “Super Health Centers” to conduct COVID-19 testing in the barangays where they operate.

Meanwhile, drive-thru testing will be set up in temporary testing facilities in Bonifacio Global City in Brgy. Fort Bonifacio and Taguig Lakeshore in Brgy. Lower Bicutan.

“In doing this, we are capturing the real breadth of COVID-19 infections in the city, normalizing testing and taking away the stigma around the infection,” Cayetano said.

Those who will be tested are persons exhibiting flu-like symptoms; frontline workers; people who may have interacted with confirmed cases; and vulnerable demographics like pregnant women, elderly individuals and persons with co-morbidities.

According to the Department of Health’s COVID-19 tracker, Taguig City has 211 confirmed cases of the respiratory disease as of Monday at 4 p.m., including 28 recoveries and six deaths.