Red Cross now capable of testing 22,000 cases a day

MANILA, Philippines  —The Philippine Red Cross (PRC) can now test 22,000 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) samples a day with the increase in the daily capacity of its molecular laboratory in Port Area, Manila to 14,000 tests.

PRC chairman Richard Gordon said the opening of their molecular laboratory in Manila is “a great help” in containing COVID-19 in the country as more testing can be conducted.

“Our molecular laboratory in Manila is equipped with seven RNAs (Ribo Nuclei Acid) with 14 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) machines that are capable of testing 14,000 samples per day,” he noted.

The Manila laboratory has been in operation since May but it was only yesterday that it was inaugurated, in time with the installation of three more machines to increase the testing capacity in Metro Manila.

Aside from the testing facility in Manila, the PRC has two bio-molecular laboratories in Mandaluyong City (8,000 tests per day), one in Clark, Pampanga (4,000 tests per day) and one in Subic Free Port (2,000 tests per day).

Two facilities in Mandaue City and Batangas City are set to open soon.

The PRC also intends to establish testing laboratories in tourist hubs of the country like Boracay, Bohol, Palawan and Siargao in preparation for the opening of the tourism industry in these areas.

“This will really help us ramp up our testing capacity so that more people will get tested all over the country. With more testing capacity, we can easily identify those who are positive and segregate them from those who were tested negative,” he added.

Gordon has been consistently pushing for  massive testing so that those who test negative can go back to work, especially those who lost their jobs during the pandemic. This will also help revive the country’s economy immediately.

“Testing is the key. The whole testing in the Philippines right now is at 0.4 percent and that is very far from the 13-percentage standard of the World Health Organization. We have not tested enough but we have the capacity,” he maintained.

PRC laboratories account for most of the COVID-19 tests being conducted in the country. Cecille Suerte Felipe