Mass testing in Metro key to economic revival – Gordon

SEN. Richard Gordon said the testing of 1.7 million Metro Manila residents is the key to reviving the economy amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.

The senator, chairman and chief executive officer of the Philippine Red Cross (PRC), stressed that testing 1.7-million residents would not only enable people to get back to their jobs and get the economy going, but would also prevent the virus from further spreading.

“We can fix the problem if we really focus on testing the particular areas that need to be tested,” Gordon said during the inauguration of the largest PRC molecular laboratory in Port Area, Manila on Saturday.

He cited Laguna and Batangas, which are home to many factories. “You want them to start, so test them so they can go to work,” he said.

“Pagna- test monasila (After you test them), they can go to work. Tatakbo (Our economy will run),” Gordon continued.

The senator reiterated that employers must conduct Covid test for their employees to ensure that they are fit to work.

He said the government could not “forever” provide financial aid to workers displaced by the pandemic.

The PRC’s molecular laboratory is equipped with 14 reverse transcription-polymerase reaction chain ( RT- PCR) machines and seven automated ribonucleic acid extraction machines or Natch.

With the existing facilities in Manila, Mandaluyong, Subic and Clark, the PRC will have a total of 34 RT-PCR machines once the laboratories in Batangas and Laguna are opened in the next few days.

“If we have all these apparatus going in Subic, Clark, Batangas and Laguna, we can finish Manila in 50 days. Then we can quell the virus right away,” Gordon said.

“With more testing capacity, we can easily identify those who are positive and segregate them from those who were tested negative,” he added.

The Philippines has only tested 0.4 percent of its population, which is far from the 13-percentage standard of the World Health Organization, he lamented.