The testing capability of Western Visayas against coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) will be strengthened once all the target laboratory centers begin to operate in the next two to three months.
“When we look at the applications so far and if they will be realized, we will have about 14 laboratories running in the next two to three months,” said Dr. Marlyn W. Convocar, regional director of Department of Health Western Visayas Center for Health Development (DOH-CHD 6), during yesterday’s episode of the “Mugstoria Ta” program.
“Mugstoria Ta” over Facebook is hosted by Assistant Secretary Jonji Gonzales of the Office of the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas (OPAV).
She said that currently, two laboratory centers are operating in Western Visayas.
These are the sub-national laboratory at the Western Visayas Medical Center (WVMC) in this city’s Mandurriao district which opened last March 25 and the Teresita Jalandoni Provincial Hospital in Silay City, Negros Occidental, which started operations only last June 2.
The WVMC, she said, can process 150 to 300 specimens a day while the laboratory in Silay City initially started with 20 sample specimens. The WVMC, so far, has conducted close to 14,240 tests.
“Somehow this could help lessen the load of Western Visayas Medical Center so that eventually there will be a laboratory in Negros and another laboratory in Panay,” she said.
Currently, there are five proposed laboratories that are on Stage 3 of certification from the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) while the application from three provincial hospitals is pending.
Stage 3 of the accreditation process means that the personnel who will operate the laboratory will have to undergo a special three-day training at the RITM.
There are also private hospitals that are interested in getting accredited as sub-national laboratory.
She said that if each laboratory can test 500 specimens a day, that would mean 7,000 daily testing capability if all the 14 laboratories are running.
During the program, Convocar also reported that Western Visayas has a 70 percent recovery rate and 8.8 percent fatality rate out of its 125 confirmed Covid-19 cases.
“It’s good that the recovery rate of our region is 70 percent. Meaning 88 of the 125 already recovered,” she said.
Covid-19 cases in the region, she said, have three surges. They started in the early part of March with imported cases coming from high-risk areas, during the later part of March due to contact tracing of imported cases and during the arrival of repatriates.* (Perla Lena. ndb)