Philippine Red Cross begins COVID-19 mass testing of repatriated OFWs
Katrina Domingo, ABS-CBN News
Posted at May 01 2020 03:14 PM
MANILA – The Philippine Red Cross (PRC) on Thursday began its mass coronavirus testing program for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who were repatriated to the country last month.
At least 120 seafarers were swabbed at the PRC’s molecular laboratory in Mandaluyong City to ensure that they are free from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) before government allows them to return to their hometowns.
“Our aim is to really get our people tested so that we can immediately isolate those who are affected and prevent the non-carriers from acquiring the virus,” PRC chair Sen. Richard Gordon said in a statement.
“We want to make sure that our OFWs are safe before they go home to their families,” he said.
LOOK: Philippine Red Cross begins #COVID19 mass testing program for OFWs. PRC chair @DickGordonDG says they expect to test 20,000 OFWs (📷 from Sen. Gordon’s office) pic.twitter.com/l7joHEFJxz — Kat Domingo (@_katrinadomingo) May 1, 2020
Nurses and medical technologists from the Armed Forces of the Philippines are helping the Red Cross in administering the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) tests, he said.
OFWs who test negative for COVID-19 will be allowed to be quarantined at home instead of being isolated in government facilities, Presidential adviser for flagship programs and projects Vince Dizon said.
“Umaabot ng 1,000 mahigit ang dumarating na OFWs everyday. We want to test them and we want to work with Chairman Gordon para mabilis iyong resulta,” he said.
(Up to 1,000 OFWs are returning to the Philippines daily. We want to test them and we want to work with Chairman Gordon so we can get the results faster.)
The PRC expects to test at least 20,000 repatriates.
“We are planning to put up 20 more [laboratories] throughout the country so that we could test more,” Gordon said.
PRC earlier acquired several reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) machines to enable the non-profit organization to conduct up to 3,000 COVID-19 tests per day.
PRC’s laboratory is one of the 19 laboratories in the Philippines capable of conducting and processing COVID-19 tests. The Department of Health (DOH) has yet to accredit 40 other testing facilities.
The DOH has yet to reach its target 8,000 COVID-19 tests a day due to the inability of some laboratories to run tests and the lack of encoders.
