BALANGA CITY (PIA) — Governor Albert Raymond Garcia is expecting the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) testing laboratory in Bataan to be operational on May 15.
Garcia disclosed that the facility is capable of conducting 150 tests per day.
“As soon as we have our own testing facility, COVID-19 positive cases can be identified easily. They will be immediately separated from the others and they will be treated to prevent further transmission of the disease,” Garcia said.
He added that the laboratory will further lessen the burden of healthcare workers and hospitals which still caters to the needs of non-COVID patients.
Also, the local chief executive revealed that Bataan General Hospital and Medical Center (BGHMC) Chief Glory Baltazar is tasked to administer the operations of the laboratory, which is now under Stage 4 of the accreditation process from Department of Health.
“We are waiting for Stage 5 of the accreditation which will be the signal that our laboratory is fully prepared to diagnose COVID-19 cases similar to the process conducted at the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine,” he explained.
Prior to this, Garcia assured that BGHMC medical technologists and pathologists have underwent extensive training at the University of the Philippines and at the Lung Center of the Philippines.
About PhP20 million was also allotted by the provincial government for the preparation of the laboratory including the equipment to be used in the testing such as the Reverse Transmission-Polymerase Chain Reaction that can provide 95 to 98 percent accuracy test results.
Moreover, Garcia is expecting the delivery of 5,000 test kits purchased from a medical research and development company in Manila, while a budget was allocated for an additional 45,000 test kits.
“We ask for your unity in our goal to fully combat this disease. Your support and prayers give us strength for to do all we can to help our people overcome this challenge,” Garcia appealed to his constituents.