DAVAO CITY—The city government here said it has enhanced its capability to widen its trace of the contacts of Covid-19 positive patients and to shorten the waiting time for results of swab tests with a new laboratory granted license to operate here.
On June 22, the Department of Health granted license to operate the city government-ran Los Amigos Davao Laboratory, which the City Health said would shorten the waiting time to about two days the result of reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing results.
It would also allow the city government to resume its weekend swabbing of possible contacts.
While the city has one of the highest rate of infection in the country at 7.57 percent, it said this was also due to an intensified case finding of individuals with influenza-like illnesses.
On a given surveillance swabbing period, which was about a few days or one week, the three swabbing centers could handle an average of 2,000 swabs a day. For example on June 13, the city health and Department of Health handled as many as 261,855 individuals.
The City Covid-19 Task Force spokesman, Dr. Michelle Schlosser, said that at that swabbing period, 13,823 of them tested positive, to yield a positivity rate of 7.57 percent.
Schlosser said the Los Amigos facility is valid to operate until December 31 this year for Covid-19 cases.
“The Los Amigos molecular laboratory, aside from decongesting the Southern Philippines Medical Center [SPMC] Molecular Laboratory, will be able to give the turnaround of results faster,” she added.
The SPMC laboratory usually releases RT-PCR test results within two to three days but with the swarm swab samples due to the surge of Covid-19 cases, results would take five days. “I hope we will be able to achieve two to three days.”
“As soon as we have addressed the backlog or as soon as we decongest the SPMC, the Saturday and Sunday swabbings will resume,” she said.
The Saturday and Sunday swabbings were recently temporarily suspended, according to her, as the SPMC molecular laboratory could no longer accept samples beyond its allowable maximum limit.
Swabbing is usually held from Mondays to Sundays at Sta. Ana Health Center, Crocodile Park, and Magsaysay Park. Dr. Schlosser said Sta. Ana is currently under quarantine and may resume operation within this week.
The city already has the manpower for the Los Amigos Davao Laboratory and it would start operating once logistics requirements have been completed.
High-risk behaviors
MilleNnials have posted the most number of Covid-19 cases in the most recent surge of cases here, mainly due to risk behaviors, such as propensity to gather in groups as they itch to socialize, Schlosser said.
Millennials are those aged 24 to 40 years old.
In a presentation during the Davao City Covid-19 Task Force meeting last week, Acting City Health Office Head, Dr. Ashley Lopez said there were 13,394 infection were coming from the age groups 20-29, 30-39, and 40-49. This number of infections represents 62 percent of the total active cases of 21,453 as of June 19.
Schlosser said, however, that recovery was high among millennials, although they also posted the high casualty rate, at 159 of the 829 deaths as of June 19.