DOH clarifies accuracy of donated COVID-19 test kits from China

The Department of Health (DOH) clarified that initial batches of donated coronavirus testing kits from China, specifically 2,000 BGI RT-PCR kits and 100,000 Sansure RT-PCR kits, have been assessed by the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) and found to be at par with World Health Organization (WHO) standards.

This clarification follows an earlier statement by Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire who mentioned that a batch of test kits from China had only a 40 percent accuracy rate and were not used.

The DOH stated that the test kits Vergeire referred to were from a different brand proposed for donation by a private foundation, not the ones from the Chinese government.

The Sansure test kits contain all necessary reagents, eliminating the need for separate procurement by the Philippine government.

The DOH apologized for any confusion caused by previous statements.