The Philippine Red Cross (PRC) Zamboanga City Chapter will start the use of the cheaper saliva test to test for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (Covid-19) by February.
Joseline Fernandez, OIC PRC administrator said, they will start this second week of February 2021.
They are waiting for the equipmens to arrive the city while other equipments are now existing inside their Biomolecular Laboratory.
For the test to be done Individuals would have to spit inside a sterile 1-milliliter vial that is sealed and documented for results. They should not eat, drink, gargle, smoke, or vape 30 minutes before the test. Then wait for three to four hours for the result.
The fee for the saliva test is cheaper at P2,000 compared to the Real Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) test which is the gold standard for Covid-19 testing which is priced at some P3,000.
Fernandez also said, they are also waiting for guidelines.
As of January 22, the city have 3,872 confirmed cases of Covid 19, for the recoveries 3,571, active cases 120, and deaths 181. (R.G. A A. Go)
