Lack of reagents, lab staff delaying expansion of testing capacity —DOH

The Philippines still has not met its initial daily target of 8,000 tests for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) by the end of April due to an insufficient supply of reagents and healthcare workers, the Department of Health (DOH) said Tuesday.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire admitted that the DOH has been facing challenges in ramping up the country’s testing capacity.

“Meron po tayong ilang hamon na hinaharap upang maabot ang ating maximum testing capacity. Halimbawa na nga lang po, ang pagkakaroon ng sapat na supply ng reagents o ang ating sapat na supply ng health human resources para magpatakbo ng ating mga laboratoryo,” she said in a virtual press briefing.

Vergeire explained that the cumulative testing capacity of the 23 licensed testing centers already exceed 8,000 but other factors are holding them back from conducting the maximum number of tests daily.

The country’s daily testing capacity was at 4,725 as of Monday.

The government earlier said it is targeting 30,000 tests per day by May 30 with the launch of four mega-swabbing centers across Mega Manila. 

The DOH is also processing 77 facilities’ applications for certification, 58 of which are already on Stage 3 or above of the five-step accreditation process.

“Sa patuloy na paglilisensya ng iba’t ibang laboratoryo sa bansa, inaasahan po natin ang pagtaas ng ating maximum daily testing capacity para sa COVID-19,” Vergeire said.

The country’s COVID-19 task force said its goal is to have 78 accredited testing centers by the end of the month. 

Meanwhile, Vergeire announced that test kits capable of conducting 800,000 tests in total will arrive soon.

“May parating na 8,000 BGI test kits na makakagawa ng 400,000 tests ngayong linggo at meron din pong 2,000 na fortitude test kits na makakagawa ng 400,000 ring tests sa darating na susunod na linggo,” she said. — BM, GMA News