The Philippine Red Cross (PRC) hit beyond three million coronavirus disease (COVID-19) testing nationwide, proving that it continues to hold the country’s first line of defense against the viral disease.
PRC Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Senator Richard J. Gordon announced that as of 9 a.m., Sunday, May 23, their COVID-19 testing laboratories have so far conducted a total of 3,010,432 reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) swab and saliva tests.
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He noted that the PRC recorded more than three million COVID-19 tests nationwide, only three months after it hit the 2 million milestone in February 2021.
“We at the Red Cross continue to remain diligent against this invisible enemy, by testing 24 percent of the country’s nationwide output and even accounting for 40 percent of total tests conducted during the recent surge,” Gordon said in a statement.
The country’s premier humanitarian organization started conducting COVID-19 tests on April 14, 2020. In January this year, it launched its saliva RT-PCR tests.
“If we did not go into testing, 250,000 COVID-19 positive cases would have gone undetected and unknowingly spread the virus,” Gordon said.
Currently, the PRC has 13 molecular laboratories nationwide, processing one out of 4 Filipinos tested.
To aid the government’s fight against COVID-19, the PRC constructed its first molecular laboratory for COVID-19 RT-PCR testing in its National Headquarters in Mandaluyong City in just 14 days
The Research Institute for Tropical Medicine accredited the PRC’s first molecular laboratory for COVID-19 testing on April 14, 2020, only a month after the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic.
Laboratories in the PRC Logistics and Multipurpose Center and the PRC Port Area were also established.
The PRC Bio-Molecular Laboratory in Port Area, Manila, which was inaugurated on June 23, 2020, is the single biggest molecular laboratory in the country with more than a million tests conducted.
“The country’s battle against COVID-19 is far from over, and the Red Cross will continue to improve and innovate to reinforce our defense against the virus,” Gordon said.
In January this year, the PRC launched the "faster, cheaper, and non-invasive” saliva RT-PCR testing in the country. It is available in different shopping centers such as SM Supermalls, Robinsons, Araneta City, and Ayala Malls, "making the standard of COVID-19 testing more available and accessible.”
The PRC said it has mobilized its 103 chapters nationwide to augment the government’s COVID-19 vaccination efforts.
The humanitarian organization said it is "currently seeking accreditation for its Bakuna Centers from the Department of Health, as well as training volunteer doctors, nurses, and staff to administer the vaccines to the general public."
“Our Red Cross staff and volunteers detect the virus, take care of the COVID-19 positive individuals in isolation and the families they would leave behind, and treat those who need immediate care in our field hospitals. Truly we are tireless humanitarian workers who always look for avenues to help alleviate the suffering of humanity,” Gordon said.