Solon urges gov't to provide medical frontliners with COVID-19 test kits

A lawmaker on Monday urged the government to also provide medical frontliners with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) test kits considering that they are susceptible to contracting the novel coronavirus.

In an interview during the Laging Handa briefing, Agusan Del Sur Representative Eddiebong Plaza said test kits should also be given to medical frontliners apart from personal protective equipment as they respond to cases of COVID-19 in the country.

"I think we have to look into giving special case sa ating mga frontliner, bigyan natin ng test kit. Bakit? Para sila rin ay magkaroon ng peace of mind, ang ating mga frontliners which are the health workers," he said.

"Mabigyan sila ng test kit so that they themselves will now kung positive sila o hindi so that we can do the necessary action if they are positive dito sa ating mga frontliners," he added.

The Food and Drug Administration recently approved the test kits for COVID-19 developed by the University of the Philippines-National Institutes of Health and manufactured by Manila HealthTek.

This is the first locally made PCR based COVID-19 test kit approved by the FDA.

Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr., chief implementer of the National Action Plan to address COVID-19, also earlier said the government is looking to start mass testing on April 14, but this will so far only include persons under investigation and monitoring for the disease.

Plaza joined the call of his fellow lawmakers to extend the ongoing enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in Luzon to ensure that the novel coronavirus will be fully contained.

He said a haphazard lifting of the ECQ may only put to waste the successes of the measure in combating COVID-19.

"With my observation, tutal nagdusa na rin tayo at ito naman ay natanggap ng taumbayan sa ngayon, e ituloy na natin ito nang sa gayon ay talagang ma-contain ang COVID-19. Because ang government will be really in disarray kung magiging complacent tayo," Plaza said.

"Sana ay talagang pag-isipan natin nang husto. Rest assured ako dito sa pag-extend, although nahihirapan na ako dito sa quarantine na ginagawa natin dito sa sarili natin. Pagtitiisan natin as long as we will be successful sa ating pinaggagawa," he added. —KG, GMA News