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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider DOH to buy 3-month supply of test kits

DOH to buy 3-month supply of test kits

Published Apr 13, 2020 12:00 am
By Rizal Obanil Department of Health (DOH) Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire on Monday said that they are procuring a supply of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) test kits for the next three months. Health Assistant Secretary Maria Rosario Vergeire (PNA / MANILA BULLETIN) Health Assistant Secretary Maria Rosario Vergeire (PNA / MANILA BULLETIN) In an interview over GMA-7’s Dobol B sa News TV, Vergeire said that under the Bayanihan Act, they are procuring an estimated number of COVID test kits that they think will last for the next three months. Currently, Vergeire said that their supply is “enough” for now. The DOH intends to ramp up their daily testing capacity to around 8,000 to 10,000 by the end of the month, thus the need for more testing kits. DOH Secretary Francisco Duque III in a previous interview said that during the first few weeks of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) they couldn’t see the current situation of COVID-19 infections in the country because there was still a lot of backlog as far as testing results were concerned. He explained then the DOH needed to somehow finish all the backlog so that they could finally have a real-time assessment of the situation so they could determine whether the situation is improving or not. The primary objective of the ECQ, authorities earlier said, is to flatten the curve, to give the country a better chance of controlling the pandemic.
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