A total of 34 evacuees displaced by typhoon “Ulysses” in Marikina City were found reactive in the rapid antibody testing for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) of the local government, Mayor Marcelino Teodoro said Friday.
“We have found 34 people in various evacuation centers that have an infection, and they already underwent swab testing. We are now waiting for their confirmatory results,” Teodoro said in an interview over GMA News.
After testing reactive in the rapid testing, he said the evacuees were immediately placed under quarantine and were subjected to a confirmatory polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing.
“Right now we are waiting for PCR results because they are reactive. We first measured the antibody. This means that we checked if they are reactive, if there is an infection,” he added.
The Marikina City government has begun its targeted testing of evacuees displaced by the recent typhoon this week using rapid antibody test kits to prevent the spread of the dreaded disease among evacuees.
Teodoro confirmed on Thursday that a 68-year-old male evacuee, who have taken shelter at Barangka Elementary School, a designated evacuation site, has tested positive for coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
All members of the patient’s family as well as the 13 people he had close contact with have all tested negative for the virus in the swab testing, he said.
Teodoro explained that the local government uses the strategy of prioritizing immuno-compromised evacuees, vulnerable individuals, and those with COVID-like symptoms in its targeted testing.
“For practical intent and purposes, we first tested those with COVID-like symptoms. They are the ones who should be looked at immediately, the symptomatic ones,” he said.
The city government has set up rapid testing centers in evacuation sites and deployed some 190 contact tracers to identify those who have made contact with persons infected with COVID-19.
“Our priority is to quickly recover from the effects of the typhoon. But we don't want that while we are recovering, we are also burdened by the COVID pandemic,” Teodoro said.