Robredo announces pilot run of mobile lab for COVID-19 test, x-ray, and blood test in QC

The office of Vice President Leni Robredo on Wednesday kickstarted a pilot run of a mobile laboratory which will provide COVID-19 test, blood test, and x-ray in Quezon City amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Robredo, in a video posted on her Facebook page, said that the initiative complements her office’s Bayanihan E-Konsulta program which provides free telemedicine services courtesy of volunteer doctors and other staff, including her daughter, Dr. Tricia Robredo.

The patients who will be served by the mobile laboratory are those who were ordered by their doctors to get a COVID-19 test, a blood test, or an x-ray via the Bayanihan E-Konsulta program.

“We tested this because this is very doable. There’s x-ray, blood test, swab test for COVID-19. We hired two units of ambulance to fetch patients. This is very helpful for local government units, especially that there is congestion in our hospitals,” Robredo said.

“This can be done even once a week, assign an ambulance to fetch patients for the tests. As it is, even those needing x-ray will have to queue in a long line, so we look for a place with good ventilation. We did this because we are looking for alternatives,” she added.

In the same video, Robredo said that patients waiting for their turn are in the ambulance.

“These are patients who are having difficulty in breathing, and in need of an x-ray,” she pointed out.

Likewise, the Vice President said that even private companies with enough resources can make the same initiative for their employees.

“This [move] will bring relief to the patients,” she said.

On Tuesday, the DOH reported 8,571 new cases of COVID-19 bringing the total number of infections to 884,783.—AOL, GMA News