Gov't will do 'expanded targeted testing' --- Roque
Published May 19, 2020 12:00 am
By Genalyn Kabiling
The government is committed to sustain “expanded targeted testing” to contain the spread of the new coronavirus disease, Malacañang said Tuesday.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque
(MANILA BULLETIN) Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said they intend to follow the global health benchmark to test a targeted portion of the population while continuing to strengthen the country’s testing capacity. "Siguro po kasi mali iyong ginagamit nating term na ‘mass testing’. Ang tawag po dapat ay ‘expanded targeted testing,’ okay. Wala pong bansa sa buong mundo na tini-test ang lahat ng kanilang mga mamamayan (Maybe because the use of the term 'mass testing' is wrong. It should be called 'expanded targeted testing.' No country in the world tests all their citizens)," he said during a press briefing aired on state television. "Ang susi sa testing ay work on benchmarks, ibig pong sabihin nito ay 1 to 2 percent of the population of the entire country or in the case of an epicenter, even higher than up to 10%. At iyan po ang ninanais natin sa Metro Manila (The key to testing is work on benchmarks or target 1 to 2 percent of the population or the entire country or in the case of an epicenter, even higher than up to 10 percent. That's what we're aiming for in Metro Manila),he said. He said there was "no perfect formula" so the country will instead "follow the global benchmark and build capacity to test broadly and swiftly." At present, he said the expanded target testing implemented by the Department of Health (DOH) follows the guidelines of international practice. "We test those who need to be tested, dahil hindi lang iyong mga gustong magpa-test (not those who want to be tested)," he said. He said the people who are tested are those symptomatic, those coming from abroad, close contacts, and those who tested positive in rapid antibody test results. As of May 15, he said the country's daily testing capacity has reached 11,127. This is significantly higher than the 5,000 daily tests conducted as of May 2. The government aims to conduct 30,000 tests a day before the end of the month. Roque also said the government distributed 275,000 rapid testing kits to local government units that have no existing polymerase chain reaction (PCR) laboratories.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque(MANILA BULLETIN) Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said they intend to follow the global health benchmark to test a targeted portion of the population while continuing to strengthen the country’s testing capacity. "Siguro po kasi mali iyong ginagamit nating term na ‘mass testing’. Ang tawag po dapat ay ‘expanded targeted testing,’ okay. Wala pong bansa sa buong mundo na tini-test ang lahat ng kanilang mga mamamayan (Maybe because the use of the term 'mass testing' is wrong. It should be called 'expanded targeted testing.' No country in the world tests all their citizens)," he said during a press briefing aired on state television. "Ang susi sa testing ay work on benchmarks, ibig pong sabihin nito ay 1 to 2 percent of the population of the entire country or in the case of an epicenter, even higher than up to 10%. At iyan po ang ninanais natin sa Metro Manila (The key to testing is work on benchmarks or target 1 to 2 percent of the population or the entire country or in the case of an epicenter, even higher than up to 10 percent. That's what we're aiming for in Metro Manila),he said. He said there was "no perfect formula" so the country will instead "follow the global benchmark and build capacity to test broadly and swiftly." At present, he said the expanded target testing implemented by the Department of Health (DOH) follows the guidelines of international practice. "We test those who need to be tested, dahil hindi lang iyong mga gustong magpa-test (not those who want to be tested)," he said. He said the people who are tested are those symptomatic, those coming from abroad, close contacts, and those who tested positive in rapid antibody test results. As of May 15, he said the country's daily testing capacity has reached 11,127. This is significantly higher than the 5,000 daily tests conducted as of May 2. The government aims to conduct 30,000 tests a day before the end of the month. Roque also said the government distributed 275,000 rapid testing kits to local government units that have no existing polymerase chain reaction (PCR) laboratories.