Manila Bulletin
Philippines
Gordon welcomes Red Cross laboratories' accreditation in Subic and Clark
Philippines
Gordon welcomes Red Cross laboratories' accreditation in Subic and Clark
Gordon welcomes Red Cross laboratories' accreditation in Subic and Clark
Published Jun 15, 2020 04:04 pm
By Hannah Torregoza
Senator Richard Gordon welcomed the accreditation of the Philippine Red Cross’ (PRC) bio-molecular laboratories in Subic and Clark, saying the additional facilities will boost PRC’s COVID-19 testing capacity.
Senator Richard J. Gordon
(Senate of the Philippines / MANILA BULLETIN) According to Gordon, the two laboratories will be formally opened this week since they passed the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine’s (RITM) proficiency test last Friday and accredited as certified COVID-19 testing centers. “This is a very welcome development. We can do a total of 4,000 tests per day in the two new facilities, which will enable us to run an over-all total of 16,000 tests a day,” Gordon, the PRC chairman, said. “And with the hotel capabilities of both Subic and Clark, repatriation flights for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) can now be directed to the airports in the two cities,” he added. The Subic laboratory is located at the PRC Logistics and Training Center inside the Subic Bay Freeport Zone but the swabbing will be done at the SBF’s Main Gate. The facility can run up to 2,000 tests a day. On the other hand, the Clark laboratory, located at Clark Freeport Zone, he said is also capable of running the same number of tests. Three of PRC’s COVID testing centers, two in its national headquarters along EDSA and one in its former headquarters in Port Area, Manila, are already up and running. Gordon said the three facilities are capable of running 4,000 tests each per day and all are equipped with four polymerase reaction chain machines. Prior to this, the PRC opened up eight other testing centers in Batangas, Laguna, Mandaue City, Isabela, Cagayan de Oro, Zamboanga City, Bacolod City, and Surigao. It will also add 10 more PCRs in the Port Area molecular lab, which will enable the Red Cross to conduct a total of 46,000 tests per day. “According to the WHO (World Health Organization), we have to test 13 percent of the population so we can determine the disease’s positivity rate,” the senator said. For Metro Manila alone, Gordon said that would be 1.7-million individuals and it would take 10 months or 308 days to test 13 percent of its population at 46,000 tests a day. “So we really have to ramp up testing to ensure victory over COVID,” Gordon reiterated.
Senator Richard J. Gordon(Senate of the Philippines / MANILA BULLETIN) According to Gordon, the two laboratories will be formally opened this week since they passed the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine’s (RITM) proficiency test last Friday and accredited as certified COVID-19 testing centers. “This is a very welcome development. We can do a total of 4,000 tests per day in the two new facilities, which will enable us to run an over-all total of 16,000 tests a day,” Gordon, the PRC chairman, said. “And with the hotel capabilities of both Subic and Clark, repatriation flights for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) can now be directed to the airports in the two cities,” he added. The Subic laboratory is located at the PRC Logistics and Training Center inside the Subic Bay Freeport Zone but the swabbing will be done at the SBF’s Main Gate. The facility can run up to 2,000 tests a day. On the other hand, the Clark laboratory, located at Clark Freeport Zone, he said is also capable of running the same number of tests. Three of PRC’s COVID testing centers, two in its national headquarters along EDSA and one in its former headquarters in Port Area, Manila, are already up and running. Gordon said the three facilities are capable of running 4,000 tests each per day and all are equipped with four polymerase reaction chain machines. Prior to this, the PRC opened up eight other testing centers in Batangas, Laguna, Mandaue City, Isabela, Cagayan de Oro, Zamboanga City, Bacolod City, and Surigao. It will also add 10 more PCRs in the Port Area molecular lab, which will enable the Red Cross to conduct a total of 46,000 tests per day. “According to the WHO (World Health Organization), we have to test 13 percent of the population so we can determine the disease’s positivity rate,” the senator said. For Metro Manila alone, Gordon said that would be 1.7-million individuals and it would take 10 months or 308 days to test 13 percent of its population at 46,000 tests a day. “So we really have to ramp up testing to ensure victory over COVID,” Gordon reiterated.