Over 14k OFWs repatriated, tested for COVID-19, says Duterte

More than 14,000 repatriated overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) have so far undergone testing for COVID-19 upon return to the country, President Rodrigo Duterte's seventh weekly report to Congress stated on Monday.

According to report, a total of 14,430 OFWs have been tested through COVID-19 rapid testing one-stop shops administered by the Philippine Coast Guard at Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminals 1 and 2 and at sea ports since April 23.

A total of 6,911 of these repatriated OFWs were tested from May 1 to May 7, the report added.

COVID-19 tests have also been administered to 8,029 OFWs quarantined in hotels and to 1,936 OFWs quarantined in cruise ships since April 23, the report said.

In terms of the country's testing capacity, Duterte's report stated that 139,379 COVID-19 tests have been conducted on 131,786 individuals.

During the period of May 2 to 6, an average of 5,863 tests were conducted daily, it added.

The government is working on increasing the country's COVID-19 testing capacity.

The Jose B. Lingad Memorial General Hospital, for one, has recently passed Stage 4 or the proficiency testing phase for accreditation, the report said.

The said hospital's laboratory can conduct 45,000. It is now only waiting for a formal turnover ceremony with the Asian Development Bank and the grant of its license to operate.

The conversion of Building N7397 of the Clark Civil Aviation Complex into a Molecular Laboratory for the Philippine Red Cross is now 98.8% complete, the report added.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) has also released P100 million as interim financing for COVID-19 testing services that the Philippine Red Cross will conduct.

As of May 11, a total of 11,086 cases of COVID-19 have been reported in the Philippines, with 726 deaths and 1,999 recoveries. -NB, GMA News