4 new sub-natl labs start COVID-19 testing; DOH reports 47 acc'd labs but shortages persist

As of Friday, March 20, four sub-national laboratories in Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center, San Lazaro Hospital, Southern Philippines Medical Center, and Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center have started conducting tests for COVID-19.

The WHO-accredited centers now include these hospitals along with the soon-to-be-operational University of the Philippines National Institutes of Health.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire admitted that test results are facing delays due to increased demand, with some taking over a week to process.

WHO has provided additional test kits to RITM, increasing its daily testing capacity from 300 to 450 tests, though sub-national labs currently only have around 100 test kits each.

The DOH reports that there are now 47 laboratories accredited for RT-PCR and Gene Xpert testing with at least 93 other laboratories in various stages of preparation.

Local government units in the provinces are now battling COVID-19 with a shortage of test kits, as seen in Davao Region where three persons under investigation died before results were released.