PH Red Cross to hold Covid tests in QC

THE Philippine Red Cross (PRC) on Wednesday said it would test residents in Quezon City for the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) as cases of the respiratory disease continued to climb.

PRC Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Sen. Richard Gordon said PRC would give priority to

(villages) with the most number of Covid-19 cases. The city government would cover the costs, he added.

“[Quezon City Mayor Josefina] Joy Belmonte,

test Quezon City (Mayor Joy Belmonte said she would shoulder the tests for Quezon City, where we will do the tests first),” Gordon said.

Gordon did not say when the testing would begin. The PRC is undergoing accreditation from the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine.

The Red Cross recently purchased two machines that can theoretically run 1,500 Covid-19 tests in a day and yield results in three hours.

The PRC is coordinating with local governments on how their residents can go to the Red Cross’ headquarters in Mandaluyong, where the test machines would be deployed.

He said the tests could be done in the PRC’s convention center, which can accommodate 800 people. If the screening there goes smoothly, Gordon said the Red Cross would also run tests at its Manila headquarters in Port Area.

The government should pay for the tests, he said.

“Dapat unahin natin talaga, mga taong walang kaya (We should prioritize, if possible, the poor),” Gordon said. The Quezon City government recorded 151 Covid-19 cases with 27 deaths and 11 recoveries.