Roxas City to utilize container vans as COVID-19 lab
By Tara Yap
ILOILO CITY – The local government of Roxas City in Capiz province will be utilizing container vans to comprise its own testing laboratory for coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
Mayor Ronnie Dadivas inspected the movable COVID-19 laboratory that was installed over a 24-hour period in Milibili village.
“We will expect that this laboratory will harness our fight against COVID-19,” said Dadivas.
The installation of the container vans a public–private partnership (PPP) as the city government’s engineering office had to utilize the equipment of Pueblo de Panay Inc. and Blue Chip Builders Inc.
The city government also purchased a reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) machine for diagnostics of COVID-19 specimens.
The new laboratory is expected to expedite the release of COVID-19 test results in Roxas City.
Currently, majority of specimens coming from Roxas City have to be sent to the two COVID-19 laboratories in Iloilo City.
But the COVID-19 laboratories of the Department of Health (DOH-6) and another private hospital have been trying to cope with the number of specimens tested with the rise in locally transmitted cases. The two COVID-19 laboratories also cater to specimens coming from Aklan, Antique, Iloilo, and Guimaras provinces as well as Iloilo City.
Meanwhile, Dadivas is waiting for DOH-6 to inspect the COVID-19 laboratory and hopefully approve its accreditation process.