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More Philippine laboratories to conduct COVID-19 testing —WHO
Four subnational laboratories in the Philippines were slated to begin novel coronavirus testing on March 19, as announced by the World Health Organization (WHO).
These laboratories include Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center, San Lazaro Hospital, Southern Philippines Medical Center, and Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center.
The University of the Philippines National Institutes of Health laboratory is also expected to be ready for COVID-19 testing soon.
This brings the total number of WHO-accredited COVID-19 testing centers in the Philippines to five by Thursday, March 19.
Previously, only the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) was capable of testing samples for COVID-19.
The WHO also provided RITM additional supplies of test kits, increasing the laboratory's daily testing capacity from 300 to 450 tests.
The WHO is also supporting the RITM with the assessment of an additional six private laboratories for COVID-19 testing.
The WHO is working with the Asian Development Bank to support the Department of Health in sourcing urgently needed laboratory supplies.
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