Speedy release of test results would slow COVID-19 cases – UP-OCTA

The turnaround time for the release of COVID-19 test results should be decreased significantly to reduce COVID-19 cases in the country, Dr. Ranjit Rye of the UP-OCTA Research team said Friday.

Rye made the call two days after Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said that Metro Manila will slide back to Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine (MECQ)—a protocol which only allows 50% of each company’s workforce to physically report to work and bans mass transport—if the COVID-19 cases reach by 85,000 by end of July.

A week before the month ends, COVID-19 cases in the country have already breached 76,000.

“Ang weakest link ng ating strategy has always been contact tracing. While [our] testing is ramping up, we have to improve iyong turnaround time ng test results,” Rye told GMA News Online in a phone interview.

“Malaking bagay ‘yan kasi if we don’t have the test results, wala kang actionable data for contact tracing," Rye added.

Rye also said that isolation centers should be increased, considering that around 70 percent of COVID-19 cases in the country are asymptomatic or mild cases that need to be confined in isolation centers.

"If we can get that down, we can bring down the community transmission," Rye pointed out.

The UP OCTA Research team projected that the COVID-19 cases in the country will reach 80,000 to 85,000 by the end of July.

Back in late May, the Department of Health (DOH) classified the newly recorded COVID-19 cases per day to two categories: fresh cases or those COVID-19 test results released within three days or less and late cases or those COVID-19 test results released within four days or more.

But by July 10, the DOH dropped such a strategy. Instead, the DOH reported the number of active COVID-19 cases in addition to the newly recorded cases, total number of cases, recoveries and deaths per day.

On Friday alone, the Philippines recorded over 2,103 new cases which were reported by 78 out of 90 laboratories.

"Mahirap kasi ang sitwasyon kasi kulang ang reagents ang laboratories, kulang ang testing kits, kulang rin ng tao," Rye said.

Rye also urged that pool Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) testing—a strategy in which samples of multiple individuals are processed using one test kit—should be implemented immediately.

“Matagal na naming sinasabi ito sa aming mga report because it is an efficient way of using limited resources. Fairly accurate ang pool testing na RT-PCR,” Rye said.

“Ang hinahabol kasi natin hindi lang numero, kundi iyong efficient use of testing as a way to identify those infected and for contact tracing,” he added. — DVM, GMA News