As cases of COVID-19 continue to soar in the country, the Department of Health on Wednesday expressed apprehension over the recommendation to randomly test commuters for coronavirus disease, as doing that will be extremely ‘resource intensive.’
‘Hindi ko pa alam kung kakayanin iyan ng ating sistema iyong sinasabing randomized testing,” Health spokesperson Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a media forum in response to the suggestion of researchers from the University of the Philippines, which was made after over a hundred personnel from MRT-3, including ticket sellers, have tested positive for COVID-19.
[Translation: I still do not know if our healthcare system has the capacity to conduct randomized testing.]
Vergeire added, “Our testing is a point in time event, so kapag tinest kita ngayon, maaaring bukas may bago ka nang exposure. Itetest ba kita ulit?”
[Our testing is point in time event so if I test you today, and you have new exposure the next day, do I test you again?]
Despite the apprehension, the DOH promised it will study the proposal of UP OCTA Research group.
“We will study that. We put that on our table to discuss.”
The Health Department has been logging between 1,000 and 2,000 backlogged and ‘fresh’ cases over the past few days. Vergeire said the recent increase is mainly due to community transmission and also because of non-compliance to health protocols.
