The report on the probe over the alleged “false positive” results of coronavirus tests conducted by the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) in Subic is expected to come out next week, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said.
Duque said that the report of the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) on its investigation on the matter is expected to be released by Oct. 8.
“Meron silang report na lalabas pa lang, makukumpleto ang kanilang investigation by Oct. 8 (They have a report that is yet to come out, their investigation will be completed by Oct. 8),” he said in a public briefing.
President Duterte said the DOH should look into reports of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) tests conducted by the humanitarian organization that allegedly yielded “false positive” results.
In his previous address, Duterte alleged that 44 out of 49 hospital personnel that tested positive in the PRC-Subic later on tested negative in a different testing facility
The Health chief said the involved personalities doubted the result of the testing conducted by the PRC and had themselves tested again in a private hospital.
Out of those who reportedly tested positive in the PRC testing, Duque said only five tested positive for the virus after another round of testing in a different facility.
In response to the allegations, the PRC in a statement acknowledged the possibility of false positive results “since no test is 100 percent accurate.”
“Antayin lang natin dahil medyo masalimuot yung proseso ng kanilang investigation dahil kinakailangan dito highly technical ang proseso (Let's just wait because the process of their investigation is complicated because it requires a highly technical process),” Duque said.
Duque said the probe involves the following steps: a review of the laboratory records of the testing, review of the case investigation report, remote verification of the laboratory measures and procedures, and lastly, troubleshooting and proficiency testing of concerned laboratories
“Kinakailangan by October 8 lalabas ang resulta ng investigation (It needed that by October 8, the results of the investigation will be released,” he said.