Manila Mayor Francisco "Isko Moreno" Domagoso on Wednesday ordered the city government to conduct free swab testing for market vendors, public transportation drivers, and other workers in the city.
Domagoso signed Executive Order No. 39, stating that employees of malls, hotels, restaurants and supermarkets, vendors in public markets, and drivers of e-trikes, pedicabs, tricycles, jeepneys, and buses in the capital city will be given free polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, hailed as the "gold standard" by the Department of Health.
The Manila mayor said testing the said workers is aligned with his belief that both the public's lives and livelihoods must equally be protected amid the pandemic.
“The real threat of COVID-19 continues to persist in our community, thereby sending fear to every person of getting infected with it. This fear will affect not only the individual preferences and behavior or every person, but also the economic growth ,” the mayor said.
“In order to allay the fear of getting infected with COVID-19, there is a need to assure the public that employees of these frequently visited establishments are COVID-19 free and thus spur economic activities,” he added.
The free swab tests came after the launch of Sta. Ana Hospital’s second molecular laboratory which is expected to process 1,000 swab tests daily and help the city in its efforts to identify and isolate COVID-19 patients. The Ayala Group of Companies donated P8.5 million for the construction of the said laboratory, that was built in 12 days.
In an interview with CNN Philippines, Domagoso said workers who wish to be tested can either go to Sta. Ana Hospital or wait for members of the city government to go to their workplace.
The heads of the Manila Bureau of Permits and Licensing Office, the Department of Tourism, Culture and Arts of Manila, and the Manila Traffic and Parking Bureau are directed to require establishments under their jurisdiction to fill up mandatory health declaration forms for contact tracing.
“The city finds it imperative to provide the employees of these establishments with free RT-PCR testing as the city’s proactive initiative in balancing health and economy for the general welfare of Manileños,” the local chief executive said.
Domagoso said they have already conducted 27,280 PCR tests and 71,258 serology tests as of Wednesday morning.