Dizon: COVID-19 testing capacity much better compared to pandemic's onset

Testing czar Vince Dizon on Tuesday touted the Philippines’ current capacity to detect cases of COVID-19 compared to the pandemic’s onset a year ago despite a renewed surge in infections in Metro Manila.

Dizon said the country now conducts more than 50,000 tests daily unlike in early 2020 when the Philippines had “almost zero” capability to screen individuals for COVID-19.

He also said a person can now get the test result in less than 24 hours as compared to three weeks in the past.

“We now have 229 testing laboratories. We’re able to test more people,” Dizon said at a Palace news conference, as he credited the joint efforts of the government and the private sector.

The Philippines tested 9.129 million individuals as of March 21, according to the Department of Health.

Dizon, however, acknowledged that the country still has to do more given the rising cases in the National Capital Region (NCR). Contact tracing efforts should also be intensified, he said.

More isolation facilities will also be constructed, Dizon added.

Due to the surge in cases, the government placed Metro Manila and the four neighboring provinces -- Laguna, Cavite, Bulacan and Rizal -- under a general community quarantine bubble with a new set of regulations.

Residents of “NCR Plus” areas are not allowed to go outside the bubble, while residents outside the bubble are not allowed entry except for purposes deemed by the government as "essential."

The movement restrictions, which took effect on March 22 and will last until April 4, aim to reduce cases by at least 25%, Malacañang said on Monday. —KBK, GMA News