Manila, Ayala Group open new molecular lab

MANILA, Philippines — The city government of Manila has partnered with the Ayala Group of Companies in the construction of a new molecular laboratory at the Sta. Ana Hospital.

Spearheaded by Manila Mayor Isko Moreno, the Manila Molecular Testing Laboratory at Sta. Ana Hospital, which was launched yesterday, will support the city’s efforts against the pandemic by increasing its testing capacity.

Free serology testing is being offered in Manila’s barangays to serve the community, especially workers who are required to pass through required health protocols.

“The construction of this laboratory is significant for us. The city of Manila has been providing free serology testing, and as we speak, more than 67,000 individuals have already benefited from it – individuals and corporations, because I want us to go back to normal. Normal in such a way that we can live with COVID-19, accept the fact that there is danger so that we have to discipline ourselves, but we can go back to work safely,” Moreno said.

The collaboration reflects the continuing commitment of the Ayala Group to support government initiatives in the fight against COVID-19.

Ayala Corp. president Fernando Zobel de Ayala believes in the positive impact of public-private collaborations in addressing the current crisis.

“We support the national government’s efforts to upgrade our testing, tracing and treatment capabilities. While we are doing what we can to help at the national level, we also believe that engaging local governments and applying decisive leadership at the grassroots level are critical to our success,” he said.

Hospital director Dr. Grace Padilla said the hospital is the only local government unit district hospital to house two types of molecular laboratories. One is the Xpress Xpert SARs COV2 Testing Laboratory using cartridges and the other is the RT-PCR molecular laboratory.

“We can perform more or less 1,000 tests a day for one machine and now we have two Sansure machines. We’ll be doing our best to make it efficient, fast, reliable and real-time. The new molecular lab will really strengthen our testing capacity and our fight against COVID-19,” Padilla said.