Leyte lab charges cheap virus tests

This is a part of the corporate social responsibility of the Divine Word Hospital

PALO, Leyte — A private COVID testing laboratory in Tacloban is charging the local government units (LGU) of the province only P1,000 on the first test and lesser amount in subsequent tests.

The low rate easily affords the LGU to require the reswabbing of recovered COVID-19 patients before they are sent home.

Former energy secretary Jericho Petilla, who is the concurrent consultant of League of Municipalities of the Philippines in Leyte, said Leyte LGU have an agreement with Divine Word Hospital Virology Laboratory (DWHVL) to charge only P1,000 on the first test of the patient and lesser rate, and even free service, in subsequent testings.

“This is a part of the corporate social responsibility of the Divine Word Hospital (DWH),” Petilla said.

DWH, a tertiary hospital, is owned by the SVD religious order and managed by Benedictine nuns.

DWHVL is among the laboratories listed by Department of Health (DoH) charging minimal rates for COVID-19 testing.

The special rate, however, does not apply to the hospital’s regular clients, some of whom require COVID-19 testing before they can undergo medical procedures.

Petilla said the DWHVL was primarily set up to help the region cope with the pandemic.

Even before the pandemic spread, Leyte had discussed the need for a testing center apart from the laboratory that the DoH was setting up then.

Petilla donated the machine and testing kits, others contributed technical expertise, and the hospital provided the space for the laboratory and managed it.

With the current set-up, LGU in Leyte submit the first specimen of suspected COVID-patients and close contacts to EVRCTC for confirmatory testing.

DWH, a tertiary hospital, is owned by the SVD religious order and managed by Benedictine nuns.

But following the DoH protocol, EVRCTC does not conduct a re-swabbing of a positive patient after 14-days isolation since they are considered as recovered if no symptoms appear within three days before their discharge.

In the absence of re-swab from a government-run facility, LGU in Leyte submit the re-swab specimen to DWHVL and pay P1,000 per patient on the initial test.

The Leyte provincial board has already passed a provincial ordinance for a uniform protocol in managing COVID-19 among different LGU in Leyte. Under the proposed ordinance, COVID-19 positive patients in the province require a negative test before they are released from isolation.

The proposal is now just awaiting the signature of Leyte Governor Leopoldo Dominico Petilla before it takes effect.