Quezon City to have own molecular laboratory to process COVID-19 tests

The Quezon City government on Sunday said it is eyeing unveiling on the last week of August its own molecular laboratory that will process COVID-19 tests.

The local government unit said it is hoping the Department of Health (DOH) will give the go signal for the laboratory's operations by then.

The said laboratory can process 500 tests a day with just one or two days turnaround time.

The DOH has already accredited the laboratory at level 3.

Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte said the laboratory is located in Barangay Teachers Village East, with funds donated by Megaworld Corporation for the three-storey building's retrofitting and the equipment and supplies needed. Other equipment and facilities were donated by the private sector.

Belmonte said the laboratory can also process other medical tests such as those for tuberculosis, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and dengue.

Twenty members from the City Health Department will undergo training at the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine before they are assigned at the Quezon City laboratory.

The DOH on Sunday said there are now 108 laboratories nationwide licensed to conduct independent testing for COVID-19 after six more laboratories received accreditation.

In its daily COVID-19 report, the DOH said the country now has 81 accredited polymerase chain reaction (PCR) facilities and 27 GeneXpert laboratories. 

The number of COVID-19 cases in the country reached 161,253 on Sunday, the DOH said. Of this number, 112,586 recovered while 2,665 died. —KG, GMA News