Mass testing of individuals with the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) symptoms is a must with the highly contagious omicron variant spreading rapidly as evidenced by the soaring number of active positive cases of the virus in the country.
League of Provinces of the Philippines (LPP) and Marinduque Gov. Presbitero Velasco Jr. expressed alarm over the widespread transmission of the COVID-19 omicron strain.
“At may alert level 4 na ho (provinces) at yung I think Ifugao, Kalinga at Mt. Province at may isang lungsod na sa alert level 4 na po. So talagang nakikita natin na tumataas itong (virus) transmission (There are provinces under alert level 4 and I think Ifugao and the Mt. Province and there is a city also under alert level 4. So, we can see that there is an increase in the transmission),’’ Velasco said in an ABS-CBN interview.
Even with the dangers of the omicron variant transmission, Velasco stated that many individuals have not been tested for the virus probably due to financial constraints with the exorbitant cost of the medical test kits.
“Hindi naman ho mibigay talaga ng LGUs na libre po yan (test kits) puwera lang po doon sa
mayayaman na lungsod katulad po ng Quezon City. Narinig ko na namimigay po sila ng libreng test kits, eh mahal din po yun. Hindi ho makakayanan ng mga LGUs yan (The LGUs cannot afford to provide the test kits for free except for the rich cities like Quezon City. I heard that they gave free test kits that are very expensive. The LGUs cannot afford that),’’ he added.
To avoid the rapid transmission of the virus, Velasco cited the need for mass testing for symptomatic individuals and close contacts of people with suspected COVID-19 positive persons.
With the exorbitant cost of the test kits, Velasco said that the LPP had suggested to the national government at the start of the pandemic in 2020 to purchase them directly from the suppliers abroad.
“At government to government na ho (arrangement) at iprovide na lang ho diyan sa mga LGUs (test kits). At tingin ko po ay hindi naman kamahalan kapag government to government (transaction). Siyempre ho makakakuha ng discount. Kailangan ho talaga ang mass testing kasi kung hindi ho ang bilis humawa nung omicron variant. Ilang segundo lang ho kahit kayo ay protektado ng bakuna at kahit na ho may booster nahahawa pa rin (The arrangement should be government to government and just provide them to the LGUs. I think it is less costly if the transaction is government to government. I am sure there will be discounts. Mass testing is really necessary since if this is not done, the omicron variant can easily spread. In a few seconds even if you are fully vaccinated and have gotten your booster shots you can still get infected),’’ Velasco emphasized.
The LPP chief emphasized the urgency of immediately identifying the COVID-19 positive individuals even if only the antigen tests are provided so that they can be isolated and given the proper medical care.
Citing the importance of being isolated, Velasco lamented that the transmission of the infection has been identified to start in the offices and especially inside the residences where the household members are not wearing masks when conversing or taking their meals.
With the rapid spread of the virus, Velasco suggested that household members should wear masks as protection even when inside their homes adding that those showing signs of the COVID-19 symptoms should be reported immediately to the barangays where the local health workers can attend to them. (Chito A. Chavez)