Molecular lab that can accommodate 1,000 tests daily opens in Pasay
A modern molecular diagnostic laboratory that can test up to 1,000 people a day and can provide results within 24 hours was opened in Pasay City Monday (September 29).
The Lord’s Grace Industrial and Medical Clinic said the molecular laboratory uses highly computerized reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain (RT-PCR) equipment, considered by health experts to be the most advanced in the country today that can test up to 1,000 people a day.
Laboratory manager Mark Angel Magracia said that they use three LongGene Q200B-RT-PCR which are highly computerized machines that can test an average of 96 specimens every one and a half hours.
Magracia said the results can be available to the person via email or text message and the Department of Health (DOH) within 24 hours.
“This is good news especially to outbound Filipino workers and seafarers who are in a hurry to get their health permits,” Magracia explained.
He also said they have provided an OFW lounge or designated area for workers like members of the Overseas Placement Association of the Philippines (OPAP) and Philippine Association of Service Exporters Inc. where they can wait for their turn in getting swab test.
Mayor Emi Calixto-Rubiano said the opening of the state-of- the-art molecular laboratory in the city is a big help in the local government’s effort to curb the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19).
Rubiano said the laboratory also has five drive-thru testing facilities within the clinic’s compound located on the corner of Magsaysay Boulevard and Buendia Avenue.
The mayor said that Magracia informed her that the laboratory is open 24 hours a day and has employed three medical doctors and 70 medical technologists in the clinic.
Rubiano said that a highly technical proficiency test conducted by the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) showed that the clinic passed all the criteria necessary to run the laboratory.
She said the test includes nucleic acid extraction, PCR master mix preparation, real time RT-PCR, interpretation RT-PCR results, and RT-PCR results reporting.
According to the mayor, after passing all the necessary requirements, the DOH’s Health Facilities Services Regulatory Bureau gave the clinic a license to operate.
“With its modern and advanced features, equipment and facilities, plus its whole-day operation and its capability to produce results of swab test within just 24 hours, the Lord’s Grace Industrial and Medical Clinic could indeed provide the much-needed assistance to our Filipino workers in getting the required health permit for their employment abroad the soonest possible time and thus help them secure good income for themselves and their family. This likewise provides a big boost in our overall efforts to curb the spread of the virus, “ Rubiano said.