Manila City aims to test 1,000 Sampaloc district residents for COVID-19
MANILA, Philippines — Manila City aims to subject some 1,000 residents of Sampaloc district to COVID-19 test while its 48-hour “hard lockdown” period is in place, a hospital official said.
Dr. Aileen Lacsamana, director of Ospital ng Sampaloc, told DZMM that they aim to test 432 people in five baranagays of Sampaloc on Friday. Another 500 may be done on Saturday.
Manila Mayor Isko Moreno placed Sampaloc under “hard lockdown” from 8 p.m. of April 23 to 8 p.m. of April 25 in a drastic bid to contain the spread of the coronavirus in the area.
Moreno earlier said they will conduct disease surveillance, testing and rapid risk assessment during the shutdown period.
Those who will be tested do not necessarily exhibit symptoms of COVID-19, Lacsamana said.
“What we want in conducting mass testing is subject the frontliners. Two, household contacts of COVID positive cases,” she added in Filpino.
She said they will be using rapid antibody testing kits, which will yield results in 10 to 15 minutes.
Should results turn out to be positive, the patient will undergo a confirmatory test. He or she will be brought to the city’s holding area where patients will receive counseling on what the results mean and who should be quarantined at the Delpan site.
65 nabbed for violating guidelines
A spot report posted by the Manila Public Information Office, meanwhile, showed that as of noon Friday, 65 persons were nabbed for violating guidelines of the district’s “hard lockdown” period.
Violators were brought to the covered court of Barangays 463, 581 and 420.
During the duration of the lockdown, all residents of the entire district shall be strictly confined to their homes and are prohibited from going out of their residences.
Only healthcare workers, police and military personnel, government employers, service workers, barangay officers and media practitioners accredited by the government are exempted from the order.
“All other commercial, industrial, retail, institutional and other activities not mentioned in above exemptions in the said district shall be suspended within the specified period of the shutdown,” the executive order read. — Kristine Joy Patag with report from Gaea Katreena Cabico
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