Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship and Go Negosyo founder Joey Concepcion expressed his support for a new method of detecting coronavirus disease through a breath test that is developed by a tech-firm from Israel.
In an online forum on Thursday, Concepcion said that adopting testing technologies will help the country’s small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to slowly open up their businesses amid the current health situation.
“We are optimistic that these testing technologies will open up the economy safely for many of our SMEs, particularly in the tourism sector,” said Concepcion.
“I think the private sector would support, together with the proponents of both saliva and breath testing, to try to see how we can accelerate the testing here in the country,” he added.
“The interest of Go Negosyo, Project Ark is really to help our micro and small medium enterprises. The challenging environment because of the pandemic has caused many of our SMEs to really close their businesses and those that are allowed to operate definitely have felt slow down because of the health situation which continues to be there,” he furthered.
Concepcion believed that “Israel is one of the leading countries when it comes to technology.”
The new testing technology being supported by Concepcion is a breath test, developed by BioSafety Technologies Ltd., a subsidiary of TeraGroup, in Israel.
Within a minute, an individual can undergo “an easy non-invasive test to determine” if he or she is negative or suspected to have contracted the illness. Those suspected to be infected would be required to undergo further medical tests.
“We have been involved in all sorts of testings from antibody test kits to donations of PCRs---to now ongoing research on pooled PCR and the antigen, and of course both breath and saliva,” said Concepcion.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque, for his part, welcomed this new development in COVID-19 testing.
“I'm very excited with what we are talking about because we are always on the lookout for cheaper and faster alternatives than the PCR,” said Roque.
“Without efficient and cheap testing, we will not know who is afflicted with COVID and of course we would not know who to isolate, trace, and treat,” he added.
“I thank the private sector for the invaluable service in the fight against COVID. We would have not been able to manage without the support of the private sector particularly of the Project Ark,” he furthered. To note, Project Ark is a private sector campaign for COVID-19 testing led by Concepcion.