Mass testing will paint a clearer picture of the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the country and help track down those who are infected so they can at once be isolated or ordered quarantined.
This is according to Senator Win Gatchalian who also stressed that mass testing should have a targeted approach and prioritize those who have been exposed to COVID-19-positive patients such as those Persons under Monitoring (PUM), Persons under Investigation (PUI) and the frontliners.
The senator said mass testing should also cover asymptomatic carriers who may be unknowingly spreading the disease. The government is eyeing April 14 as a possible date to conduct the mass testing.
“Mass testing will paint a clearer picture of COVID-19 spread in the country.”
He cited the case of Iceland, where laboratory mass testing revealed that around 50 percent of cases have no symptoms.
Gatchalian said mass testing is a better approach to flatten the curve and at the same time it would lead to a more efficient use of resources and avoid further strain on the country’s already overwhelmed health care system.
“Without mass testing, we are totally blind. And when we are blind, the risk is higher of spreading the virus again, thereby wasting the Enhanced Community Quarantine”, Gatchalian explained. The enhanced community quarantine was extended by President Rodrigo Duterte until April 30.
Gatchalian also noted that social distancing must still be observed even if mass testing is being done, considering that the number of COVID-19 positive patients continue to soar.
Social distancing must still be observed even if mass testing is being done
“Patuloy pa rin ang pag-akyat ng bilang ng mga pasyenteng may COVID-19 sa bansa. Kaya dapat ipatupad pa rin ang social distancing habang mayroong mass testing,” he said.
Gatchalian added that it is important for the country to have a sustainable capacity for mass testing and urged the Department of Health (DOH) to fast-track the capacity-building and accreditation of testing laboratories.
He said mass production for locally-produced test kits developed by the University of the Philippines-National Institutes of Health (UP-NIH) will boost the country’s testing capacity.
Between April 4 to 25, a certain number of test kits that can do up to 26,000 tests will be rolled out. There is also an-going production of test kits that can perform up to 120,000 tests.
Manufacturer Manila HealthTek Inc. is making these kits commercially available at P1,300, significantly cheaper than the ones currently used in hospitals, which can cost up to P8,000.
According to Gatchalian, this would also give local government units a more cost-efficient option in procuring their own test kits.