The drive-thru and walk-in coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) testing centers in the city of Manila will remain operational during the modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) from August 4 to 18.
Manila Mayor Francisco "Isko Moreno" Domagoso said quarantine pass holders and other persons who are authorized to leave their houses can still get tested at the city government's testing sites.
There are two drive-thru testing centers at Quirino Grandstand and in front of the Andres Bonifacio Monument, and three walk-in testing facilities at Gat Andres Bonifacio Memorial Medical Center (GABMMC), Ospital ng Sampaloc, and Justice Jose Abad Santos General Hospital (JJASGH).
"We need to test the people. We need to secure the people. We need to give them peace of mind. And the only way to do it is through science," he told reporters on Tuesday (Aug. 4).
"There is an opportunity in the city of Manila," he added. "We have the capability to properly identify the sick and quarantine people."
Residents and non-residents of the city alike can get tested at these facilities for free from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The blood samples collected at the testing sites are processed by the city's serology testing machines that have a 99.6-percent accuracy rate.
The city government also has two mobile COVID-19 serology testing clinics that transfer to two barangays per day.
Domagoso earlier said they are building their 13th quarantine facility in Quiapo, Manila in preparation for a possible surge in the number of the city's COVID-19 cases.
In the press briefing, the Manila mayor also said another isolation facility -- the city's 14th -- will be built at the basketball court at the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (PLM) in Intramuros, while the San Andres Complex quarantine facility will be retrofitted.