Gagamit ng katulad na teknolohiya sa China ang COVID-19 testing facility sa Jose B. Lingad Memorial Regional, San Fernando, Pampanga.
Binisita ng Department of Health, kasama ang ilang opisyal ng Chinese Embassy sa Pilipinas ang laboratoryong malapit na matapos sa pagse-set up.
Ayon kay Health Sec. Francisco Duque, tinatayang hanggang 4,000 samples ang kayang i-proseso ng naturang pasilidad.
“It’s very significant because that is one of the objectives to increase testing capacity. So we will be able to detect early, identify people with COVID-19 early. And the earlier the identification, the quicker the interventions, the quicker we can isolate them, the quicker we can quarantine those who are exposed.”
“So this is going to really improve our capacity to identify. It is a booster. It is a confidence-building measure. The cooperation has been super.”
Ang itinayong laboratoryo sa J.B. Lingad Hospital ay pinondohan ng Asian Development Bank, sa pakikipagtulungan ng BGI Group ng China.
“We’ve been really amazed at the quality of cooperation. It turns out not only an excellent set of equipment and good price that is available. The company has gone out its way to provide people and support in training,” ani ADB vice president for bank Ahmed Saeed.
Target ng DOH na mapalawig nang hanggang 30,000 ang testing capacity ng certified laboratories sa bansa bago matapos ang Mayo.
Sa ngayon may higit 20 pasilidad na ang na-certify ng Health department at may higit 50 pa na pending application.
“Local people have few chances to get access to the high-flux nucleic acid extraction equipment. So we not only installed and checked the devices, but also need to train the local workers. Besides, we should help them get authentication for the lab according to local rules,” ani Liu Chen, person in charge sa Pampanga laboratory facility.(Reuters)
