Metro Manila local government units get swabs for mass testing

(Photo from GABMMC PIO)

Various local government units (LGUs) in Metro Manila announced the start of their own mass testing last week, coinciding with the national government’s efforts to start mass testing supposedly on April 14.

The mass testing in Metro Manila LGUs are mostly swab collection, and will be processed in the DOH-accredited labs that will be loaded in the country’s around 4,000 tests per day capacity.

As of April 14, the national government announced start of “massive testing,” there remained 15 polymerase chain reaction labs in the country, same as the previous week and 3,000 testing capacity per day or 1,000 target tests short of the target. The country’s capacity is over 4,000 tests daily as of April 16. But the average tests done per day remain lower than the announced capacity, number to only 2,633 from April 11 to 17.

While no other city has set up its own, new PCR lab other than the Marikina LGU, the samples collected in other city’s local mass testing will be processed by partner PCR laboratories.

Manila, Quezon City, Caloocan, Valenzuela, Malabon and Pasig started collecting swabs last week. Mandaluyong, Makati, Taguig, Parañaque and Las Piñas has laid down steps to begin local testing this week.

 

Marikina

Marikina City will soon not only conduct swab tests but process its own samples, thanks to its own RT-PCR lab that its mayor have fought hard to build and run. Marikina Mayor Marcelino “Marcy” Teodoro aggressively pushed for conducting mass testing early on. He wanted the city’s constituents tested, especially its poorer residents.

Teodoro stood out in his perseverance for mass testing by building the city’s own RT-PCR laboratory, while the DOH and the IATF have been proclaiming that time that “mass testing is not (yet) needed” to address the COVID-19 outbreak contrary to World Health Organization recommendation to pursue an “offensive strategy” in the outbreak by conducting mass testing. Officials of neighboring province Rizal has sought the approval of Marikina’s lab as it would cater and service their testing for free as well.

In March, Marikina set up its testing laboratory at the sixth floor of the City Health Office. However, the DOH did not approve the first lab the LGU built. The DOH said it should be in a free-standing building, a different location to adhere to biosafety guidelines. Teodoro was irked with the disapproval since the city proceeded with the lab construction with the partnership of various experts, but he soon started to look for locations to build the testing facility that would earn the DOH accreditation. He found a new two-storey building in Barangay Concepcion Uno to set up the new lab.

On April 14, the mayor launched the new lab sans DOH approval, saying he is ready to face charges when he opens the lab on April 17. The mayor said they have been waiting for three weeks for the DOH approval for three weeks. The DOH was also scheduled to inspect the lab the day before, but did not make it. The DOH inspectors arrived shortly after Teodoro’s decision to launch the lab, invoking the LGU’s autonomy in the Local Government Code.

“Idemanda na nila ako para sa kababayan ko. Sa tingin ko, mas malaking kasalanan sa batas at tao ang kawalang aksyon ng DOH ngayon,” Teodoro said.

[Sue me in the name of my constituents. In my view, a much bigger transgression against the law and the people is the inaction of the DOH right now.]

Following Teodoro’s statements and actions that day, the DOH said the lab is still in stage 3 of a 5-stage accreditation process, as their findings showed that the machines were not installed and that the staff lacked training. Teodoro responded saying that the machines should have been installed in the presence of the DOH and that the trainings their lab staff lacked were confirmatory trainings that only DOH could provide as part of the lab’s accreditation approval.

Public support for Teodoro poured in, as did criticisms against the DOH. The IATF recommended the approval of Marikina’s lab on April 17, but still to undergo the DOH process. The DOH approval is expected on April 21 or 22.

Marikina’s COVID-19 testing lab can process up to 400 samples daily. Two dedicated ambulance units will pick up samples from hospitals and testing centers to deliver to the laboratory. A molecular pathologist will be on duty to run the tests.

 

Manila

 Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko” Moreno said the LGU will conduct its own targeted mass testing. The city will be able to conduct 232 tests per day or 1,624 per week in all the local government-operated hospitals where testing would be performed. The testing centers in Manila include Ospital ng Maynila, Sta. Ana Hospital under the Manila Infectious Disease Control Center, Gat Andres Bonifacio Memorial Medical Center, Ospital ng Tondo, Justice Jose Abad Santos General Hospital and Ospital ng Sampaloc.

The Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) or the University of the Philippines Philippine General Hospital (PGH) will process the swab tests of Manila’s targeted mass testing. PGH said the results will come out in two to three days.

On April 18, Gat Andres Bonifacio Memorial Medical Center employees took swab tests of COVID-19 patients and frontliners in line with the localized targeted mass testing operations by the Manila City government.

 

Quezon City

 The Quezon City (QC) LGU announced that community-based testing in the city started on April 13.

Walk-ins to testing centers are not allowed. People are advised to coordinate with their barangay if they need testing. Meanwhile, people can go to health centers if they need testing.

The process for the community-based testing in the city follows these steps: (1) barangay health workers will conduct interview or background check, check-up for symptoms and give instructions on social distancing and self-quarantine if there are no symptoms; (2) those with symptoms, also a suspected case or PUI, will be brought by an ambulance to a community-based testing center; and, (3) suspected cases will be brought to the Hope Community Care Facility or the city’s quarantine center if self-quarantine at home is not possible.

A total of 174 swab tests were done by the LGU as of April 17.

On April 18, the LGU struck a partnership with St. Luke’s Medical Center-Quezon City where not less than 50 specimens per day will be tested and results will be known in 2-3 days.

 

Caloocan 

Collection of swabs started on April 16 in Caloocan, as updated by Mayor Oscar “Oca” Malapitan. The “swab testing was done in two hospitals in the city, the Caloocan City Medical Center (CMCC) and Caloocan North Medical Center. The testing would be held from Monday to Saturday from 10am to 12nn only for those who were given a “case information form” (CIF).

 

Valenzuela

On April 11, Valenzuela started its “targeted mass testing” with PUIs, PUM and frontliners in the city. Valenzuela Mayor Rex Gatchalian said it is the first LGU to do local mass testing for target populations, such as PUIs, PUMs, OFWs and frontliners. The city will conduct free swab tests for The Medical City in Pasig to process, with results expected after two days.

Gatchalian reported on April 15 that 5 PUMs in Valenzuela were the positive results they got that day in the city’s targeted mass testing.

“Relayed to DOH my observations that for me is alarming. The 5 that tested positive are all PUMs (using the old categories of DOH). In the new category of DOH the PUM category is the last priority in the hierarchy of [swabbing]….pero when we [swabbed] nag positive sila. By not testing PUMs are we not in danger of releasing potential carriers into the community that may lead to contagion,” said Gatchalian.

 

Malabon

The city of Malabon reported 29 confirmed cases, 29 suspected cases and 6 probable cases of COVID-19 on April 17 as the city’s mayor, Lenlen Oreta, also reported on his Facebook page that swabs from 233 patients have been collected.

 

Pasig

On April 19, Pasig Mayor Vico Sotto announced that the city has six active testing booths “strategically placed in our SuperHealth Centers.” He said the city is almost done testing their PUIs and will also test exposed health workers. The testing in the city was assisted by Deeco Electronics at Dee Hwa Liong Academy, whom Sotto thanked, while their swabs will be processed in The Medical City. The Pasig LGU signed a memorandum of agreement with The Medical City on April 15.

“We will continue to do our best with social amelioration. But if we want quarantine to end faster–TESTING TESTING TESTING,” said Sotto.

 

Mandaluyong

 On April 18, Mandaluyong Mayor Menchie Abalos and Philippine Red Cross (PRC) Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Richard Gordon signed a Laboratory Testing Agreement so that the city can commence the PCR testing of its frontliners and suspected carriers of COVID-19. Allocation of tests per day in the PCR testing lab and technical brieing is scheduled on Monday.

 

Makati

On April 17, the staff of Makati Health Department underwent training with the PRC for the free mass testing the city plans to implement this month for people with symptoms as well as asymptomatic frontliners.

Makati Mayor Abby Binay said on April 17 that the city would sign an agreement with PRC to analyze 2,000 individuals—PUIs, PUMs and frontliners—using RT-PCR tests. The city currently sends its COVID-19 samples to RITM in Muntinlupa or San Lazaro Hospital in Manila.

Binay said the city would use PCR tests over rapid tests as the former “would generate more exact results” for its mass testing as she explained that rapid tests would cost the city more because patients still had to undergo PCR tests.

 

Taguig 

On April 15, the Taguig City LGU explained the Systematic Mass Approach to Responsible Testing (SMART).

The city government announced that they will commence with its barangay-based testing on April 22, starting with 5 barangays.  The city government plans to put up screening sites near the health centers of the city’s 28 barangays.

The barangay-based testing will prioritize patients and health workers with COVID-19 symptoms, those who had contact with positive cases, patients who have recovered and need negative results to get discharged, elderly, those with pre-existing medical conditions, and frontliners.

 

Parañaque

On April 19, Mayor Edwin L. Olivarez said the mass testing in the city will start on April 20.

“This is a very welcome development in our fight against Covid-19 because this will enable us to identify possible cases for early isolation and help curb the spread of this deadly disease,” Olivarez said.

The city will start testing with an initial three testing sites after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the use of rapid testing kits that were donated to the city government.

 “Before, the lack of test kits hampered us from performing enough tests. With the new FDA-approved rapid testing kits, additional personnel and isolation facilities, we hope to ramp up our capability to at least 200 tests per day,” said Olivarez.

 

Las Piñas

On April 20, Las Piñas Mayor Mel Aguilar signed a laboratory testing agreement between the LGU and the Philippine Red Cross testing facility to conduct testing among Las Piñas residents.