National Task Force Against COVID-19 deputy chief implementer and testing czar Vince Dizon on Tuesday rejected the renewed calls for mass testing, arguing that the government cannot test the entire Filipino population.
The Department of Health recently released guidelines on the use of saliva-based RT-PCR testing, which include an order for PhilHealth to expand its coverage.
In terms of case-hospitalization ratio (CHR), coronavirus disease (COVID-19) poses a challenge to the country’s healthcare system, based on the initial findings of a study being conducted by local scientists to look into the clinical characteristics and transmission patterns of COVID-19 in the count
(JANSEN ROMERO / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)
According to Presidential spokesman Harry Roque, saliva-based testing may help propel the country’s testing efforts to attain 90,000 to 100,000 daily tests.
At present, the country uses the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test, dubbed the gold standard in coronavirus testing, as well as rapid antigen tests to diagnose people infected with the disease.
“In addition to the use of antigen test, in the last IATF (Inter-Agency Task Force) meeting an appeal was already made to RITM (Research Institute for Tropical Medicine) to validate as quickly as possible the saliva PCR test, because saliva PCR test is half in cost at least to the normal PCR test,” Roque said over CNN Philippines Monday, April 5
(Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg)
The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) has issued a resolution allowing the OCD to use quick response funds for the procurement of these diagnostic kits that detect protein fragments specific to the coronavirus.
The massive purchase of the antigen diagnostic test kits aim to “ensure the swift detection of cases and tracing of close contacts,” according to the latest IATF Resolution No. 108.
“The Office of the Civil Defense is hereby authorized to procure using their Quick Response Fund under the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management or such other available funds, an initial Five Hundred Thousand (500,000) pieces of any of the following Rapid Antigen Test Kits authorized by the Food and Drug Administration,” the resolution read.