SMC PLAYERS TEST NEGATIVE OF VIRUS
PLAYERS from all three teams under the San Miguel Corp. (SMC) umbrella in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) tested negative for Covid-19.
SMC president and COO Ramon S. Ang said the San Miguel Beermen, Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Gin Kings and Magnolia Hotshots Pambansang Manok were among the 70,000 individuals belonging to the conglomerate’s workforce—including third party providers— who were tested for the virus in preparation for the reopening of its facilities nationwide.
“We are happy to report that all of our basketball players tested negative from the virus,” said Ang, who decided to put up a Polymerase Chain Reaction or PCR testing facility and laboratory right at the company Mandaluyong premises to help reduce the strain on government health facilities that are currently conducting and processing Covid-19 tests.
Ang said that while sports, particularly the PBA, is an important fixture in the country, preventing the spread of Covid-19 should be carefully considered before allowing the resumption of contact events or disciplines.
“We defer to the government’s wisdom and decision on when team-based leagues like the PBA will return especially if people’s lives are at stake,” Ang said. “While we all miss the PBA, we need to first create a safe environment to limit the spread of the virus.”
He added that PBA can be part of the recovery efforts by helping to consistently test everyone involved in the league.
Ang said SMC will continuously monitor the players’ health and the rest of its employees and assured that existing health packages are more than sufficient for them and their families.
“Our players and employees have nothing to be worried about as we have assured that they will continue to receive their salaries and health benefits. And we have constantly reminded our players as well as other employees to strictly follow health protocols during this time,” he added.
Ang has assured these protocols will be enforced should players return to training. SMC continues to strictly implemented workplace safety measures like physical distancing, wearing of personal protective equipment, frequent hand washing and temperature checks at its offices and facilities across the country.
It earlier announced that only 20 percent of its head office workforce will be reporting for work while majority will still work from home.
SMC has also started testing 8,000 manufacturing and operations and management front line staff at its food facilities that continued to operate during the lockdown to ensure stable food supply in the country. Tests in Visayas and Davao are also scheduled early this month.
SMC donated three sets of Reverse Transcription PCR (RT-PCR) testing machines and Ribonucleic acid of RNA machines to key government hospitals on top of five sets of the same machines and testing kits translated to 20,000 tests that were given to the Department of Health.
It also donated testing booths to the 17 Metro Manila local government units to help expand Covid-19 testing in their respective areas and make them available at minimal or no cost at all to poor communities.