The government will provide free coronavirus testing of symptomatic individuals during the house-to-house checks initiated by the department of health in high-risk areas, according to a Palace official.
As part of the intensified campaign against the disease, Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque said the Department of Health (DOH) has started to deploy coordinated operations to defeat epidemic (CODE) teams to assist local government units to find active coronavirus cases.
The community-driven strategy involves promoting behavior to prevent infection, active case finding through house-to-house symptom checks, RT-PCR (reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction) testing for symptomatic persons, and quarantine and isolation for those infected, according to Roque.
"Ito po ang localized granular response ng DOH sa COVID-19 kung saan nakatutok sa pasyente at komunidad. Ito po ay ginawa na rin doon sa Mumbai sa isang urban poor area kung saan nagbahay-bahay po ang mga health officials at hinanap kung sino iyong mga symptomatics (this the patient- and community-focused localized granular response of the doh in COVID-19. India also implemented this program in urban poor areas where health officials go house to house find the symptomatic cases)," he said during Friday's televised briefing.
"House-to-house na nga po ang gagamitin; PCR testing po for symptomatic patients – libre po iyan (there will be house-to-house checks. Symptomatic patients will undergo PCR testing. That will be free)," he said.
Roque said the government will also apply Oplan Kalinga, where those with coronavirus symptoms are brought to quarantine and isolation facilities, if needed.
"Kung ma-confirm po na talagang positibo, ilalagay na sila sa isolation facility (if a person is confirmed positive, the person will be brought to an isolation facility)," he said.
At least 10 barangays have been initially identified that will be subjected to the health department's COVID symptom assessment. The barangays included Pinagbuhatan, Pasig; Addition Hills, Mandaluyong; Sucat, Muntinlupa; Potrero, Malabon; Pembo, Makati; San Antonio, Parañaque; Barangay 12, Caloocan; Batasan Hills, Quezon City; CAA-BF International, Las Piñas; and Fort Bonifacio, Taguig.
The government's latest strategy came after Metro Manila and four nearby provinces reverted to modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) until August 18 following a timeout plea from the medical community.
The government sought to maximize the two week-quarantine period to step up testing, tracing and treatment efforts to limit the spread of the disease.