While the cities of Manila and San Juan continue to ramp up free diagnostics for their constituents, the more financially able business capital of the country has opted to take the novel mass test approach which kicked off over the weekend with some 10 thousand of the hardest hit sectors as the initial batch for the pilot program. And they include the public transport drivers, market and curbside vendors, informal city dwellers and those in the more depressed and destitute communities of the city.
With the mass diagnostics for the first batch nearing completion, the subsequent and motley group from the middle class and the private sector are up for their sets of swab tests. The pool tests for this group will kick off in groups or sets of five individuals and will hopefully ramp up according to Presidential Adiviser for Entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion III.
“Dito sa Pilipinas, gagamitin namin five samples to a test kit (In the Philippines, we will be using five samples to a test kit),” the Go Negosyo founder stated.
Five individual swab tests are sampled using one test kit and should all results yield negative, the next set of five is sampled. If a combined sample is tainted or turns out positive then all 5 are individually tested. Testing can even be expedited with larger multiples or set numbers.
All told, this approach has the backing of former Health czar and now Iloilo solon Janette Garin who sees the speed factor and the economics crucial in attaining greater participation, especially among those in the private sector and the middle class.
Concepcion could not agree more on the main objective of the program, which is faster and cheaper tests and results.
“Kung ‘yung prevalence natin, ‘yung infection level ay babagsak, then they can be more aggressive and increase that down the road to pools of 10, so that would bring down the cost to around P750 in pools of five,” he said.
“The speed of testing will be faster because you will have now five people to a test kit rather than one person to a test kit,” he added.
Even Malacanang has warmed up to the idea and given its thumbs-up to the program.
“Itong pooled testing ibig sabihin, times five na ang actual testing natin, divided by five na ang cost at mas mabilis,” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque pointed out.
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