DOH faces challenges in boosting COVID-19 testing capacity

The Philippines is facing challenges in increasing its COVID-19 testing capacity due to insufficient reagents and healthcare workers.

As of May 5, there are only 22 licensed testing centers with a cumulative daily testing capacity exceeding 8,000 tests.

The government aims to have 78 testing laboratories by the end of May to boost the country's testing capacity to 30,000 tests per day.

DOH Secretary Francisco Duque III highlighted that opening swab test facilities will help achieve the goal of conducting 30,000 daily tests by May 30.

Philippine Medical Association president Jose Santiago Jr. noted on Sunday that more testing centers are needed to speed up diagnosis and called for faster certification of laboratories applying to become testing centers.