Taguig to start drive-thru tests

Drive-thru testing will soon be available in Taguig City as the local government seeks to increase the number of residents being examined to curb the spread of the new coronavirus. Mayor Lino Cayetano on Wednesday said residents would be asked to fill out a form online where they can report their symptoms. If they need to be tested, they would be contacted by a doctor the next day for sched- uling.

The Taguig City government will soon be implementing “drive-thru” testing for the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Bonifacio Global City and Taguig Lakeshore.

On Wednesday, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III and other Department of Health (DOH) officials met with Mayor Lino Cayetano in the city to observe a mock drive-thru testing and swabbing. They also visited Lakeshore Hall, one of the city’s quarantine facilities which could hold up to 40 suspected COVID-19 patients.

Cayetano said the drive-thru testing would be done at some of the city’s temporary testing facilities as part of the city government’s initiative to raise the number of individuals being tested.

“Many experts have seen increased COVID-19 testing as an effective tool to decrease transmissions and more effectively treat those infected... In doing this, we are capturing the real breadth of COVID-19 infections in the city, normalizing testing and taking away the stigma around the infection,” he added.

Under the drive-thru testing, residents would be asked to fill out an online assessment form where they should put their personal details, including symptoms, to determine if testing was necessary.

A doctor will review the assessment form and send a reply the next day.

“If it says you need to be tested, you will be given a schedule and a number which will be placed inside your vehicle so that there will be minimal contact during the testing,” Cayetano said.

Jun Sy, head of the city’s epidemiology and disease surveillance unit (Cedsu), said the testing would take around 10 to 15 minutes as long as the individual would arrive on time for his appointment. In a day, the Cedsu could do 50 testings, he added.

This was different from the process in barangay health center testing where the patients would be fetched by a tricycle and brought to the facility.