PRC closes Mandaluyong sample collection site after frontliners contract COVID-19

(FILE) A Red Cross worker takes a swab sample of a patient at the Philippine Red Cross laboratory in Mandaluyong City in April. —INQUIRER PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — The Swab and Saliva Sample Collection Center of the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) Logistics and Multi-Purpose Center (PLMC) in Mandaluyong City was closed on Sunday for disinfection after 30 frontliners contract COVID-19.

“Last week, more than 30 of our frontliners tested positive for COVID-19. Most of them are the sample collectors exposed every day in our Sample Collection Units and Molecular Laboratories,” the PRC posted on Twitter.

📢 ANNOUNCEMENT 📢

⚠️ PLMC IS CLOSED TODAY ⚠️

Thank you for your understanding!#AlwaysFirstAlwaysReadyAlwaysThere#HopeBeginsWithTheRedCross#IStandWithPhilippineRedCross#RedCrossLangSakalam#COVID19Response pic.twitter.com/s2BYkL2JaR

— Philippine Red Cross (@philredcross) September 11, 2021

Individuals who are scheduled for a sample collection at the PLMC Mandaluyong may instead visit the PRC’s Megamall and Araneta collection centers for saliva testing or the PRC’s Port Area office for swab testing.

The PRC’s PLMC site in Mandaluyong will reopen on Monday, starting at 8 a.m.

Prior to their visit to the centers, individuals are advised to fill out the form: https://t.co/uq9wt0AJBe?amp=1

The affected facility will undergo a series of disinfection for the public’s safety, especially amid the surge in COVID-19 cases.

“It’s our responsibility to look after our volunteers and staff who sacrificed their health, time, and effort — away from their families for months — to provide the testing capacity needed by the public to battle this pandemic,” the PRC said.

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