Lysol donates P36M to Philippine Red Cross for COVID-19 testing

Lysol Philippines on Friday donated P36 million to the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) to boost the organization’s coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) testing capacity.

“We welcome Lysol as our partner in helping control the spread of COVID-19. They are a company who has invested most of their resources in studying pathogens and developing solutions that can kill these. They know what we are up against, and how we can stop the infection,” Senator Richard Gordon, chairman of Philippine Red Cross, said.

Half or P18 million of the donation will be used to build a COVID-19 mass testing center in Cagayan De Oro City, which will be called as the Philippine Red Cross Molecular Laboratory.

The facility will have two polymerase chain reaction machines that can process 2,000 tests per day, Lysol said.

The company’s donation will also be earmarked for the laboratory’s operations and maintenance costs, including the hiring of personnel.

The other half of the donation will go to the “COVID-19 Samaritan Fund” to shoulder processing fees to test around 4,500 Filipinos from the most susceptible groups, including the elderly, pregnant women, and those with pre-existing health conditions, especially in poor communities, according to Lysol.

The company said it will also turn over P5 million worth of its products to help disinfect PRC sample collection areas, as well as testing laboratories, to keep frontline healthcare workers and communities protected against the novel coronavirus.

“We feel humbled to be partnering with the Philippine Red Cross in their efforts to strengthen the country’s COVID-19 testing capacity and expand its coverage to needy sectors of society, as we keep the Philippines’ medical front-liners safe against an unseen enemy while creating awareness on the importance of hygiene and disinfection,” Gonzalo Balcazar, Lysol distributor-Reckitt Benckiser general manager for Southeast Asia, said. -MDM, GMA News