Metro Manila Cities Begin Mass Testing for COVID-19

April 14 marks the start of mass testing for COVID-19 infection in the Philippines. The government has long been planning and eyeing to finally roll out the tests as the number of COVID-19 cases in the country continues to rise and now stands at 4,932 with a total of 315 deaths and 242 recoveries.

In a press release published early this month, the Department of Health (DOH) said it will be capable of conducting 3,000 tests per day as a result of its recently expanded testing protocol. It also aims to further increase capacity between 8,000 to 10,000 tests by the end of April.

IMAGE muntinlupacity.gov.ph

DOH has partnered with the University of the Philippines-National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology in deploying over 300 volunteers in 15 subnational laboratories nationwide that can conduct COVID-19 testing.

Also read: Laboratories That Offer COVID-19 Testing in PH

In relation to this, several local governments in Metro Manila have already begun their localized targeted testing. DOH spokesperson Ma. Rosario Vergeire described this as helpful to the strategy of the national government regarding expanded or mass testing.

Manila City

According to the Manila Public Information Office, Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso has given the go signal to conduct localized targeted mass testing for the Manila Health Department (MHD) and the city’s six district hospitals.

The nation’s capital is cable of conducting more than a thousand COVID-19 swab tests a week.

Below are the city government-operated health facilities capable of conducting about 232 COVID-19 swab tests per day, or 1,624 per week:

• MHD/Delpan Quarantine Facility – 50 tests per day
• Ospital ng Maynila – 20 tests per day
• Sta. Ana Hospital/MIDCC – 30 tests per day
• Gat Andres Bonifacio Memorial Medical Center – 50 tests per day
• Ospital ng Tondo – 17 tests per day
• Justice Jose Abad Santos General Hospital – 15 tests per day
• Ospital ng Sampaloc -50 tests per day

The swab tests will be processed either by the DOH’s Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (DOH-RITM) or the UP Philippine General Hospital (UP-PGH).

Further, the said hospitals are authorized to send COVID-19 patients to the Ninoy Aquino Stadium, which was recently turned into a quarantine facility by the national government.

Valenzuela City

Valenzuela City has begun conducting its localized targeted mass testing on April 11. The Valenzuela City Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit (CESU) took swab samples of individuals included in the city’s PUI (Persons Under Investigation) list or those who are identified to have close contacts with COVID-19 positive patients.

The extracted swab samples will be brought to The Medical City in Pasig where the test kits will be processed. After a turnaround time of two days, The Medical City will forward the results to Valenzuela CESU.

Muntinlupa City

Mass testing in Muntinlupa City has already started on April 13 with PUIs being first on the list. Additionally, the city government will also begin the confinement of confirmed cases.

According to Muntinlupa’s official website, city health office personnel are utilizing swab booths during the targeted mass testing “to lessen the exposure of health workers to possible COVID-19 patients.”

The swab samples will be processed at RITM and results are expected to be released three to four days after testing. Confirmed cases will be registered to PhilHealth for medical assistance, while negative cases will be allowed to go home but are required to undergo self-quarantine for 14 days.

Quezon City

The pilot run of Quezon City’s community-based testing for COVID-19 last April 13 went smoothly with a total of 167 people tested in the testing center together with the simultaneous examinations done in local government hospitals.

Blood testing, swabbing, and x-ray examination are conducted in the city’s community-based testing. Priority is given to frontliners, senior citizens with comorbidities, and those who had contact with COVID-19 positive patients.

Results will take three to five days to be determined. While waiting, those who were tested are recommended to stay in Hope II, one of the city’s quarantine facilities, or undergo self-quarantine at home.

Parañaque City

Parañaque City has begun its localized mass testing for COVID-19 on April 20. According to the official Facebook page of Mayor Edwin Olivarez, the city has three initial testing sites after the Food and Drug Administration approved the use of rapid testing kits that were donated to the City Government.

There are around 200 suspect cases in Parañaque City that will be covered by the initial mass testing.

City Health Officer Dr. Olga Virtusio said the tests will then expand to vulnerable populations like senior citizens, pregnant women and those with co-morbidities and eventually to the general population.

Marikina City

After getting the go signal from the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) for its COVID-19 testing center, the City Government of Marikina is now awaiting accreditation from DOH to officially begin its localized mass testing.

IMAGE marikina.gov.ph

According to Marikina City’s website, the coronavirus testing center has two polymerase chain reaction (PCR) machines and can process up to 400 samples daily.

Cities and provinces outside Metro Manila are also gearing up to conduct their localized mass testings like Cavite, Baguio City, Iloilo City, and Cebu City.

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Sources: Manila PIO, muntinlupacity.gov.ph, Quezon City Facebook page, Mayor Edwin Olivarez Facebook page, marikina.gov.ph, Valenzuela City Facebook page,
Featured image grabbed from muntinlupacity.gov.ph