DOH: Philippines Triples Testing Capacity For COVID-19
TESTING CAPACITY TRIPLES – Previously, one of the problems faced by the Philippines was the lack of test-kits for COVID-19.
However, according to ABS-CBN, Health Secretary Francisco Duque said the capacity of the country to do testings has tripled. Before, the number of daily tests in the Philippines averaged at 300 per day.
But, with the new test-kits, Duque the daily tests conducted could reach 1,000 per day. However, with the increase in test-kits, he noted that the Philippines would see an increase in cases.
Likewise, South Korea’s spike in cases was due to mass testings conducted in the country. As such, even with rising cases, they were able to have an accurate estimate of the scale of the outbreak.
This led to the country applying the necessary procedures to contain the virus without the lockdown of its major cities.
However, the Philippines would be a different case as the country was just catching up on the number of tests conducted. As per the report, Duque noted that the number of cases won’t drop just because a “lock-down” was implemented.
Huwag po natin asahan na dahil nag-lockdown tayo ante mano, kaagad-agad e babagsak na ang kaso ng COVID
But, with the arrival of the new test-kits, the Filipino public got confused regarding statements of the DOH. Previously, they stated that the kits were only 40% accurate.
However, they retracted that comment and said it was a misunderstanding. As such, the DOH made a new statement that said the test-kits received were on par with standards.
Currently, there have been 1.418 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the Philippines. Along with this, the virus has caused 71 fatalities.
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