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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider Manila buys 3 COVID-19 test machines capable of testing 16,800 residents a week

Manila buys 3 COVID-19 test machines capable of testing 16,800 residents a week

Published Jul 11, 2020 04:24 pm

Manila City Mayor Francisco 'Isko Moreno' Domagoso on Saturday, July 11, announced that the local government has purchased three COVID-19 testing machines capable of testing 16,800 residents a week.

(OFFICE OF MANILA MAYOR/ MANILA BULLETIN)

Domagoso said doctors, nurses and all other healthcare workers will be the first ones to be tested by the serology testing machines from Abbott.

According to Abbott, the testing machines have an accuracy rate of 99.6-percent. However, confirmatory swab tests are still required under public health protocols.

Similar to rapid test kits, the Abbott serology testing machines uses blood as samples to test for COVID-19.

The Manila City government is the first local government unit to procure these serology testing machines, Domagoso said.

"Makakapag-test ang mga ito ng 50 samples per hour. Uunahin natin ang lahat ng doctor, nurse, mga healthcare workers, starting with Ospital ng Maynila, para mapanatag sila (The machine can test 50 samples per hour. We will first test all the doctors, nurses, healthcare workers, starting with Ospital ng Maynila),” the Mayor said.

"Kung kaya nito mag-50 per hour sa 16-hour shift ng ating mga medtech, makakagawa na ng 16,800 per week ang tatlo nating machines (If one machine is capable of 50 tests per hour, in the 16-hour shift we can do 16,800 per week for the three machines),” he said.

The testing machines will be deployed at the Gat Andres Bonifacio Memorial Medical Center, Ospital ng Sampaloc and Ospital ng Maynila.

The mayor said the city government purchased the machines at P6 million each. He said the procurement will be a long-term investment for the city government.

Aside from COVID-19, it can also help the city government's public healthcare facilities in detecting cancer, hepatitis, thyroid diseases as well as other infectious diseases.

"Even after the COVID-19 crisis, we can still use these machines for the benefit of our fellow Manileños. I think this is a good long term investment for us," Domagoso said.

The procurement is in line with Domagoso's action plan to combat the COVID-19 pandemic through mass testing and early detection.

To recall, the Manila City government recently launched its own COVID-19 testing laboratory at the Sta. Ana Hospital, where the Manila Infectious Disease Control Center is located.

As of Friday, July 10, about 158,520 rapid tests and 16,137 swab tests have been conducted by the Manila City government.

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