By Jhon Aldrin Casinas
The local government unit of Pasig City has partnered with a private diagnostic laboratory to further increase the city’s coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) testing capacity.
(Pasig Mayor Vico Sotto / MANILA BULLETIN)
Mayor Vico Sotto announced on May 22, Friday, the signing of an agreement with officials of Hi-Precision for the conduct of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing.
PCR testing is considered the “gold standard” of COVID-19 tests.
“In line with our goal to test more Pasigueños, we’ve signed an agreement with Hi-Precision for PCR testing,” Sotto said in his official Facebook page.
He said testing will begin once the laboratory will be accredited by the Department of Health (DOH).
“We are confident that Hi-Precision will be accredited because they have one of the most modern labs in the country!” the mayor said.
The Pasig City government has earlier partnered with The Medical City to increase its COVID-19 testing capacity.
The City Health Department and the City Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit will extract samples from persons suspected with COVID-19 and those who have had close contact with patients who tested positive.
The collected swab samples will be turned over to Hi-Precision, which will then process these to determine if the source is positive or negative for COVID.
As of May 21, the local government said there have been 504 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Pasig City, with 66 deaths and 194 recoveries.
“We urge you to be vigilant and stay home,” the Pasig City government said.