Wednesday, June 3, 2020
BY CARLA P. GOMEZ

The COVID-19 testing laboratory at the Teresita L. Jalandoni Provincial Hospital in Silay City that is now operational will shorten the quarantine period for returning overseas Filipino workers (OWFs), who are found negative for the virus, Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said yesterday.

The laboratory can have test results out in two to four hours, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said.

The COVID-19 laboratory at the Western Visayas Medical Center in Iloilo City that conducts tests for the entire Region 6 takes days to release test results.

The TLJPH laboratory will enable mass COVID -19 testing of persons entering Negros Occidental by land and sea, Lacson said.

The governor led the blessing and inauguration of the laboratory yesterday afternoon.

The Research Institute for Tropical Medicine has certified that the laboratory, which has been granted a license to operate by the Department of Health, can conduct Realtime Polymerase Chain Reaction tests for COVID-19.

“Our lab is fully operational and we are going to spend the first week as our proficiency week, to ensure that the lab will operate in its full capacity,” Lacson said.

One machine at the laboratory is capable of 250 to 300 tests a day, he said.

The laboratory will have two machines and an automatic extractor to enable more tests, he said.

One machine was purchased by the provincial government, a second one and an extractor were donated by former Rep. Alfredo Benitez, and the DOH has promised to provide a third one, Lacson said.

“Eventually, we can do about 1,200 tests per day,” Benitez said.

Lacson said the laboratory will be able to test more Negrenses in a timely manner, especially the returning OFWs, Locally Stranded Individuals and returning Negrenses.

But Lacson said they discourage walk-ins at the COVID-19 testing laboratory that will put receiving personnel at the TLJPH at risks.

He said the laboratory is open to testing Bacolod residents and they are hoping the city government will contribute to the expense.

The provincial government will take care of the cost of the tests for its residents and they are hoping to be reimbursed by the Philippine Health Insurance Corp., he added.

MASS TESTING

Meanwhile, Lacson said they are preparing for the mass testing of persons entering the province by land and sea.

Commercial air travel to Negros Occidental is expected to resume June 8.

A run through of the health protocols for arriving passengers will be held today, Lacson said.

They will pass through a thermal scanner and undergo a PCR tests, he said.

Diaz said the mass testing is vital as there is a danger that people coming into the province could be COVID-19 carriers.

“It will only take one person with the virus to start an epidemic wave, which we cannot afford at this time,” he said.

“Our businesses and economy cannot afford to go back to an Enhanced Community Quarantine,” Diaz added.

NOTHING TO FEAR

Meanwhile, Lacson said from May 25 to June 1, 600 OFWs have been repatriated to Negros Occidental, and one baby.

He said there is nothing to fear about the returning OFWs as they are supposed to have been tested in Manila and are immediately placed in hotels on their arrival.

If they are inside the hotel, the community is safe, he said.
Common sense tells us that you do not go and visit them in the hotel, he said.

BORDERS CLOSED

Meanwhile, Lacson reiterated that the borders between Negros Occidental and Oriental will remain closed.

The Diocese of San Carlos has sought permission for travel of its priests, who are set to be reshuffled, between the two provinces, he said.

Lacson said he will grant the diocese permission for its priests to travel, “which is essential to our spirituality.”*