Camarines Sur Representative Luis Raymund "LRay" Villafuerte on Saturday asked the National Task Force Against COVID-19 (NTF) to conduct rapid antigen testing of people entering and leaving the “NCR Plus” bubble.
Villafuerte said this would be a "more effective test-based strategy" to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and its more infectious variants.
The Bicol lawmaker proposed that NTF chief implementer and vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. coordinate with officials of concerned local government units (LGUs) in putting up testing stations in all border checkpoints in the National Capital Region (NCR) and its four neighboring provinces belonging to the “NCR Plus” bubble, which has been placed under the modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ).
“The rapid testing of travelers would enable the NTF, DILG (Department of Interior and Local Government) and other agencies to immediately detect, hold and then send to quarantine facilities for treatment those found positive for the coronavirus, rather than allow these infected travelers to cross borders and possibly infect people they come in close contact with along their trips and in their places of destination," he said.
Villafuerte issued this statement in response to the weekend announcement by the DILG that various state agencies would allot 18,000 more contact tracers as the government targets to locate people exposed to COVID-19 patients.
“Emphasis should be on testing those leaving the bubble, particularly those coming from Metro Manila, given that NCR is the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak in the Philippines that accounts for about two-thirds of total infections,” he said.
He said that using rapid antigen test kits are ideal since it is cheaper and faster, with results available in just 15 minutes after the tests are done.
Villafuerte also called on the NTF and IATF to green-light the use of antigen testing not only in ‘NCR Plus” areas but in all other parts of the country as well, to improve the testing, detection, tracing and treatment capabilities of all LGUs.
“Expanded testing is our best shot at preventing future infection surges and containing the pandemic, especially with the advent of more transmissible COVID-19 variants,” he pointed out.
In Camarines Sur, Villafuerte said the provincial government purchased last year an initial 20,000 rapid antigen test kits, using funds from the P6-billion Bayanihan grant released by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to 81 provinces, equivalent to a half-month Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) share of every province.
With the rapid antigen testing, he said the provincial government has managed to do a better job of detecting right away who among those returning to Camarines Sur were infected with the virus and then sending them to the province’s quarantine and treatment facilities.