‘Risk-based’ COVID-19 testing better than mass testing, DOH says amid surge

‘Risk-based’ COVID-19 testing better than mass testing, DOH says amid surge

“Wala po tayong plano na mag-mass testing. The government, since the start of this pandemic, has never advocated for mass testing kasi minsan nagle-lead talaga ‘yan sa indiscriminate testing,” Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a briefing.

(We have no plan to conduct mass testing. The government, since the start of this pandemic, has never advocated for mass testing because sometimes it leads to indiscriminate testing.)

“Kahit saan mo tingnan sa buong mundo, wala naman pong bansa ang nagkaroon ng kakayanan para i-test niya ang buong populasyon,” she added.

(Wherever you look, there is no country in the world that has had the capacity to test its entire population.)

Mass testing, as several netizens have been pointing out since last year, does not mean testing the entire population.

Vergeire said the government is instead focused on risk-based testing, where individuals with symptoms or a history of exposure to COVID-19 are subjected to testing.

The health official said this strategy has led to an increase in testing by local governments as more local authorities go house to house to identify possible COVID-19 cases.

Vice President Leni Robredo has led renewed calls for increased COVID-19 testing as the country battles a new surge in cases that has placed Metro Manila and its neighboring areas back under lockdown. 

On Monday afternoon, the Office of the Vice President launched the “Swab Cab” project aimed at augmenting the testing capacity of local governments. 

The Philippines has tested over 9.4 million individuals as of March 27. It posted a record-high 10,016 new infections on Monday, bringing the national tally to 731,894 with 603,213 recoveries and 13,186 deaths. 

Metro Manila, Bulacan, Rizal, Cavite, and Laguna will be under enhanced community quarantine, the most stringent lockdown classification, until April 4 in a bid to contain transmission.  — RSJ, GMA News