San Juan opens gymnasium for free swab testing of residents

MANILA, Philippines — The San Juan City government has converted the San Juan Gymnasium into a testing facility for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) which will help to maximize the mass testing of residents in the city, the local government said Wednesday.

In an ambush interview with reporters at the gym, San Juan Mayor Francis Zamora said the facility, which can conduct 500 to 700 tests per day, offers free swab tests for all residents. The collected samples will then be sent to a molecular laboratory for analysis.

However, residents who will avail of the free tests must first contact the city health office or barangay health emergency response teams to reserve their slots for testing and prevent crowds from gathering inside the facility, Zamora said.

“Kapag hindi tayo mag-ayos ng schedule, dadami po ang tao dito at magiging delikado po para sa lahat. Kaya kinakailangang may schedule para masundan ang social at physical distancing,” the mayor said.

(If we will not do it by schedule, there will be gathering inside the facility and it would be dangerous for all. So we need to schedule the testing to follow social and physical distancing.)

He also assured contact tracing will be conducted for those who will test positive for the virus.

During the opening of the facility, 500 individuals who were either frontliners, COVID-19 patients or close contacts of COVID-19 patients, underwent swab tests inside the gym.

As of Tuesday, San Juan City recorded 1,494  COVID-19 cases with 56 deaths and 1,078 recoveries.

/MUF