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Philippines now has 26 COVID-19 testing centers —DOH

By JULIA MARI ORNEDO,GMA News

There are now 26 testing centers for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) across the Philippines after two more facilities received accreditation, the Department of Health (DOH) said Sunday.

The Jose B. Lingad Memorial Regional Hospital and the Eastern Visayas Regional Medical Center were the latest institutions to be certified for independent COVID-19 testing, the DOH said in a report.

The department earlier said that the launch of the JB Lingad testing center could bolster the country’s testing capacity to 9,500 daily from 7,215 as of May 9. 

The DOH said 149,640 individuals had been tested for the respiratory illness as of May 9, with 90 percent testing negative and 10 percent were positive.

These figures do not include data from three private laboratories that had not yet reported to the DOH.

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Meanwhile, a total of 90 facilities are undergoing the five-step laboratory certification process.

Of this number, 65 or 72 percent are already on Stage 3 and above.

The Asian Hospital & Medical Center, Philippine Red Cross Port IV, and Allegiant Regional Care Hospital are already on Stage 4.

“[The] overall capacity to manage and admit COVID-19 patients is adequate with more than 50 percent beds and mechanical ventilators in ICU, isolation, and COVID wards available,” the DOH added.

The Philippines has logged 10,794 COVID-19 cases with 1,924 recoveries and 719 deaths as of Sunday afternoon. — BM, GMA News