Iloilo City eyes COVID lab operation by mid-Sept

The Iloilo City Government is eyeing the operation of the temporary COVID laboratory at the Alternative Learning System (ALS) building in Brgy. San Pedro, Molo in middle of September.

Mayor Jerry P. Treñas stressed the alternative facility will hasten the releasing of Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) test results and efficiently manage cases of COVID-19.

“What we can do is to provide this temporary laboratory for the city so that we will be able to test more. Our new laboratory is still undergoing construction works,” Treñas said.

“I am happy because we will have additional testing laboratories by September 15. Another one is the Metro Iloilo Hospital and Medical Center,” he added.

Treñas said the release of RT-PCR test results slowed down as the Western Visayas Medical Center-Sub National Laboratory (WVMC-SNL) has been overwhelmed by specimens.

In its latest advisory, WVMC-SNL stated that specimens received from Aug. 21-30 are still pending.

COVID Team Spokesperson Jeck Conlu noted some 3,000 backlogs of RT-PCR tests as of last week.

Releasing of RT-PCR tests encountered delays earlier following infection of several medical technologists manning the lab which caters to whole of Panay Island.

Meanwhile, the City Government is counting on the barangays’ support in the battle against COVID-19.

“The improvement of the situation depends on the barangay officials – and that’s the secret in order to improve the barangay. Protocols should be worked on and secured by barangay officials to lessen the cases of Covid-19,” Mayor Treñas said.

“For me, the city is not yet normal that’s the reason why we are finding ways to provide food for households under lockdown,” he added.

Several villages have been put under selective or total lockdowns when the cases rise in the areas.

“We’ll try to look for ways to bring back our community kitchen, maybe on a smaller scale for one month, we’ll see if how much we will be needing,” said Treñas. (Beatriz Angelica Pequierda and Alexandra Jover/Iloilo City PIO)