Project ARK completes 2,496 rapid tests in Pasig City

Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship and Go Negosyo founder Joey Concepcion announced the completion of 2,496 rapid tests from Project ARK (Antibody Rapid test Kits) in Pasig City in partnership with Mayor Vico Sotto.

“The threat of resurgence is always there. The key to that is creating visibility and the only way to create visibility is to do targeted mass testing: Employees, different barangays, and frontliners. Project ARK started to bring in a lot of equipment for RT-PCR testing. These are being deployed to 12 hospitals led by ARK-PCR Private Sector Chief Implementer Jannette Garin,” Concepcion said.

“We’re looking forward to increasing the PCR capacity on a daily basis. All of the efforts from the government, Philippine Red Cross, and us, in the private sector, pooled together, will be a big help,” he added.

On a Facebook post, Sotto expressed his gratitude towards the initiative: “Thank you, Project ARK! They helped us with 2,500 rapid test kits— 892 were allotted for Brgy. Sagad (~10% of their population), which had the highest COVID positive to population ratio. LGU took care of confirmatory PCR tests and four tested positive. The remaining test kits (plus more from the city) are being distributed to the rest of our barangays. For the screening of their frontliners. This is just one of our testing initiatives in Pasig.”

From those tested, 18 were asymptomatic IgM positive, 70 asymptomatic IgG positive, were IgG positive which means they had the virus and were able to recover and build antibodies, and 21 asymptomatic IgG/IgM.

Moreover, 2,318 tested asymptomatic negative, one symptomatic IgG/IgM, and 58 symptomatic tested negative. Those who tested positive were immediately brought to hospital facilities for a complimentary RT-PCR (reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction) swab testing.

Aniceto Sobrepeña, President of Metrobank Foundation, and Glenn Yu, President of SeaOil Philippines were present. Both companies are the main donors of the kits. Also present were ARK Project Lead Josephine Romero, and Barangay

Pilot Leader Ginggay HontiverosMalvar.

Project ARK has generated more than 1.2 million rapid test kits from more than 300 partner companies. The initiative also activated and automated a total of 12 hospitals to contribute to the country’s PCR testing capacity, supplementing additional 12,000 daily testing capacity. These were all made possible through the help of ARK-PCR Private Sector Chief Implementer Jannette Garin. In the coming weeks, Go Negosyo, Ayala Foundation, and San Miguel Foundation will be activating and automating 20 more hospitals.

“We will also conduct a seroprevalence test in NCR and CALABARZON on top of what companies are doing. The data gathered from the private sector’s continuous effort in testing, the data from the LGUS we are supporting such as Antipolo, Manila City, Batangas, Quezon City, Pasig, Taguig, and Makati, and the seroprevalence test that will happen in June, will allow better mapping of infections all over the country, and it will serve as the basis for the decisions by LGU leaders with regard to lockdowns,” Concepcion shared.