The provincial government of Negros Occidental asked local government units to submit COVID-19 specimens for RT-PCR test within 24 hours.
Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said that protocols for the submission of RT-PCR tests is being revised.
Diaz said a lot of the specimens submitted by the local government units (LGUs) were delayed, and the machines at the Teresita Lopez Jalandoni Provincial Hospital (TLJPH) molecular laboratory in Silay City can no longer read them.
He claimed that some LGUs only endorse their samples after 48 hours.
Diaz said that to hasten the processing time, the TLJPH had setup a receiving area.
LGUs are also no longer required to submit the swab samples to the Provincial Health Office in Bacolod City.
The acceptance of specimens at the molecular laboratory are also scheduled from 9:30 AM to 4 PM only. (Dolly Yasa via The Daily Guardian (TDG), photo courtesy of TDG)