Manila Bulletin
Gov’t set to conduct 10 million COVID tests
The Philippine government will expand its COVID-19 testing strategy to include asymptomatic individuals and other frontliners, such as media workers.
This decision, approved by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID), aims to fully utilize the 10 million RT-PCR test kits procured by the Budget and Health departments.
Palace Spokesperson Harry Roque confirmed that asymptomatic individuals and other frontliners like media personnel will be included in the testing.
The national task force and the Department of Health (DOH) will soon issue guidelines on this expanded testing approach.
Despite a testing capacity of 42,000 per day as of mid-June, an average of only 11,500 tests were being conducted daily.
The DOH aims to test 1.5% of the total population by the end of July, as less than 1% have undergone testing so far.
🤖
This story was generated by AI to help you understand the key points. For more detailed coverage, please see the news articles from trusted media outlets below.
News Sources
See how different news organizations are covering this story. Below are the original articles from various Philippine news sources that contributed to this summary.
The Department of Health (DOH) announced that the Philippines now has 83 licensed laboratories capable of conducting independent COVID-19 testing.
Read more →
Senator Richard J. Gordon emphasized that widespread COVID-19 testing is crucial for the Philippines to revive its economy.
Read more →
Vince Dizon, Deputy Chief Implementer of the National Action Plan on COVID-19, is advocating for the mass testing of all frontliners, including non-medical personnel, as they are considered the 'biggest potential spreaders' of the virus.
Read more →
Eleven individuals from various sectors have petitioned the Supreme Court to compel the government to conduct free and efficient mass testing for COVID-19.
Read more →
The Philippine government is planning to allocate P25 billion to bolster its COVID-19 response and economic recovery efforts, with a significant portion earmarked for expanded testing and a cash-for-work program.
Read more →