By Betheena Kae Unite Donated test kits from South Korea and China to the Philippines are expected to boost the country’s capability in testing patients for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said. Health Secretary Francisco Duque III
(PCOO / MANILA BULLETIN) In a press briefing in Malacanang late Monday, Duque said that the thousands of donation from the foreign countries “will be enough” to test PUIs in the country. “Palagay ko magiging sapat kasi unang una, meron tayong pondo na P240M na inaprubahan at P6,000 per test that is 40,000, that is the target testing capacity. That’s of course on top of the donations from South Korean and China. Mapaparami na ang ating kakayahaan, mapapalaki ang kakayahan na makapanuri ng throat and nose swabs ng mga PUIs,” Duque said. The DOH released a new guideline in testing PUIs. It earlier said that PUIs with mild symptoms will no longer be tested for COVID-19 and will be advised to undergo home quarantine. Duque expressed confidence that more testing will be conducted once the test kits developed by Filipino scientists are available. “Kung ang ating sariling test kits na ginawa ng UP National Institute of Health ay mapalawig, hindi magtatagal makakapag-test tayo ng mas marami (If we finally utilize the test kits made by the UP National Institute of Health, we would be able to do more tests),” the secretary said. “Mortality rate is about eight percent (12/142) but it's only high because we have not done enough testing, we have limited testing capacities, especially the past several weeks, But now, I'm confident that with many testing kits arriving and many have in fact arrived, we will be able to pick up more positives but mild cases so that the number of deaths will be further diluted by the growing number of positive cases,” he added Specialized COVID-19 hospital The health secretary also said that they are looking to set up a specialized COVID-19 hospital but have yet to identify a site. The Lung Center of the Philippines, Duque said, is being eyed to be a specialized hospital but the current situation of the hospital would not be appropriate to be converted as isolation site despite it being equipped with 15 isolation rooms. “So, kinakailangang talaga planuhin itong maigi saan ilalagay itong mga non-COVID patients ng ospital. Conceptually, okay naman to consider this but the operationalization needs further study,” Duque said. According to the Department of Local and Interior Government, the isolation site could be a private house, building, or a condominium depending on the capability of the local government unit. Emergency vehicles With the transportation limitation imposed throughout the region due to the enhanced community quarantine, the government assured that there will be enough ambulance available to transport patients. “Lahat ng ating ospital may ambulansya at meron din ang Philippine Red Cross, so we complement our ambulance capacity with that of the Philippine Red Cross. In fact, pati tents ng Red Cross are available for setting up triaging sites within the grounds of hospitals,” Duque said.