Loss of income is the primary reason Filipinos resist swab testing, Vice President Leni Robredo said as she shared the lessons and recommendations from the first day of her office’s Swab Cab, a free mobile swab testing project, in Malabon City.
The vice president warned that it was dangerous for Filipinos to be resistant to the testing because a lot of those who are asymptomatic or displaying mild symptoms might still go around and infect others.
“The resistance to undergo swab testing is real. People are worried that if they test positive and are required to isolate, they will not be able to work and their families might go hungry,” she said on a Facebook post on Tuesday night.
“Since there are many asymptomatic patients and those displaying very mild symptoms, we will not be able to control transmission because many of them would still be going around, possibly infecting other people. So we need to seriously think how we can incentivize people to convince them to submit themselves for testing,” she added.
One of her proposed incentives is to give them cash assistance equivalent to at least the minimum wage for every day that the patients are not able to work.
However, the Office of the Vice President (OVP) has no resources for this “kaya kailangan talagang maghanap ng paraan (we need to look for the means).”
The OVP launched the Swab Cab project in Malabon City on Tuesday wherein 1,500 were initially targeted to be tested.
But because the people are resistant to the test, Robredo said the team was only able to test 502 people.
“The BHERT (Barangay Health Emergency Response Team) teams had a hard time convincing people to submit themselves to swab testing. Most of those who refused were worried that they would be required to isolate should their tests turn out positive,” she added.
Of the 502 tested by the Swab Cab project, 34 turned out positive while 12 tested negative but are displaying COVID-19-related symptoms.
Robredo said even those who tested negative but have symptoms will need to isolate in a facility, which her office is also helping Malabon City to set up. She noted that they still need more mattresses and electric fans for the new facility.
“Per agreed protocols, they will immediately be isolated and confirmatory RT PCR tests will be conducted on them,” the vice president stressed.
She noted that the Department of Health (DOH) also announced on Tuesday that those who tested positive in antigen tests will be counted in the tally of COVID-19 cases.
The Swab Cab used rapid antigen test kits, which show faster results than the RT-PCR tests hospitals are using. Robredo was quick to clarify that this was not meant to replace the more accurate RT-PCR test but rather that it was being done as “surveillance testing” in areas with high transmission rates.
Despite the challenges in piloting the Swab Cab project, the vice president emphasized the importance of having mobile testing centers.
“Our assessment at the end of the day is that having mobile testing centers where people can have themselves tested for free will greatly help control the transmission of the virus. This is easily replicable,” she said.