FILE PHOTO: REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez
Waiting time is over for the whole of Region XII as the prospect of having its own Covid-19 Testing Facility has become more of a reality.
This development came during the most recent visit to General Santos City of Secretary Carlito P. Galvez, Jr, Chief Implementer of the National Task Force against Covid 19, together with Undersecretary Vince Dizon, Deputy Chief Implementer, in a meeting with the Regional Inter-Agency Task Force on May 26.
In attendance were the four governors of Region XII, Mayor Ronnel C. Rivera of Gen. Santos City, the host for the said meeting, and other members of the RIATF and RTF led by the RIATF Chair, RD Josephine Cabrido-Leysa, CESO III, and Office of the Civil Defense Regional Director Minda C. Morante, RTF Chair.
General Santos (Gensan) City and South Cotabato had consistently pushed for the establishment of the testing laboratory as a way of completing the fight against Covid-19. During the gathering, RD Leysa thanked Sec. Galvez and the NTF, who also brought with him 1,500 PPEs for each province and HUC Gensan which will be distributed to all the frontliners in the Region. Aside from the PPEs, the NTF Chief also turned over 7,500 rapid test kits to OCD XII, which in turn, will distribute the same to the various LGUs.
Meanwhile, USec. Dizon of Basis Conversion Development Authority (BCDA) pledged to help hasten the accreditation of the lab for Region XII. During the brief waiting time, lab technicians from Dr. Arturo P. Pingoy Medical Center (DAPPMC), an accredited biosafety level 2 laboratory, will undergo proficiency training at Cotabato Regional Medical Center (CRMC).
With these developments, Dir. Leysa expressed elation with establishment of additional testing labs, which will soon total 5 for the whole Region XII, to include containerized units to be set up at the airport, seaport and the Dr. Jorge P. Royeca Hospital in General Santos City, the Region’s most important economic corridor.
CRMC is the only testing lab in Region XII, with Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC) in Davao City in Region XI used to be the only test center for Mindanao. The huge volume of tests being processed by SPMC had been a contributing factor in the slow release of test results which left most local chief executives in the dark as to the status of their Covid patients.
“It was really lamentable, back when we had no idea about the real status of our patients-kung positive ba o hindi- dahil we just end up guessing kung may na-infect siya o wala. In the light of the expected huge volume of returning overseas Filipino workers and stranded residents from other regions, I think we are much better prepared with these labs” Leysa explained.###
