President Rodrigo Duterte has approved the procurement of additional test kits for targeted testing.
According to National Task Force for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) Chief Implementer Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr., the government will purchase 900,000 PCR testing kits, 2 million rapid test sets, PCR machines, freezers and other equipment needed by the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM).
In line with this, the country is expected to conduct 5,000 to 8,000 tests per day.
“Ang malawakang testing at contact tracing ay napakahalagang milestone sa ating kampanya laban sa COVID-19. Ito ay naglalayong maihiwalay nating lubos ang mga suspected COVID-19 cases sa ating komunidad, mapigilan natin ang pagkalat nito, at nang ating magamot ng maaga ang mga COVID-19 patients. (The targeted testing and contact tracing is a significant milestone in our fight against COVID-19. It aims to isolate the suspected COVID-19 cases in our communities, to stop the spread of the virus, and to treat COVID-19 earlier.) “
Chief Implementer Sec. Galvez has reminded the public not to belittle the threat caused by COVID-19 after a report showed an increasing number of violators of the Enhance Community Quarantine.
The NTF has also urged the local government units (LGUs), the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and security forces to implement more stringent measures.
“Huwag po tayong magpabaya, dahil buhay ninyo at ng inyong pamilya ang nakataya. Nakita natin ang nangyari sa mga bansang hindi sumunod sa social distancing at lockdown. Libu-libo ang namamatay sa kanila araw-araw. (Let’s not be careless because your life and your family’s life are on the line. We saw what happened to countries that did not follow social distancing and lockdown. Thousands die [in their country] every day.)’ – Report from Bea Bernardo
