Bago City puts up drive-through swab test facility

By Dolly Yasa

 

BACOLOD City – The city government of Bago launched Thursday its own version of the drive-through swab testing facility, the first of its kind among local government units in Negros Occidental.

The City Bridge, Bago City’s official newsletter, said the testing station located in the front yard of the gym has swabbed 21 city residents.

This drive-through concept will not only provide faster service to the people of Bago but also a much safer set-up because there is less face-to-face contact.

Bago City Health Office (CHO) swab team leader and medical technologist Glenly Casona said individuals will be swabbed inside their own vehicles.

“We cannot practically do house to house testing due to lack of manpower.” she said.

Casona also said some Bagonhons are hesitant to undergo swabbing because they are not comfortable with the presence of ambulance or med-techs in personal protective equipment (PPEs) in front of their houses,” she added.

She said that with this system, the city can save money from purchasing PPEs because “you have to change it from house to house.”

A resident of Bago may avail of the swab services for free provided he or she has an endorsement from the Contact Tracing Team or the Operations Center of the City Health Office, Casona said.

It is open from Mondays thru Fridays from 9 to 11 am.

In the afternoon, the CHO swabbers will conduct quarantine facility testing around the city for repatriates.

Bago City Mayor Nicholas Yulo witnessed the dry run Thursday.

He said this is one of the initiatives by the city government to test as many Bagonhons as possible to curb the spread of Covid-19 in Bago.

Currently, Bago City has 237 confirmed cases with 65 active cases, 164 recoveries, and 8 deaths.