More than 3,000 specimens remain pending in WVMC-SNL

The surge in coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases and contact tracing efforts by authorities led to more than 3,000 specimens still pending in the sub national testing laboratory in Western Visayas Medical Center (WVMC) in Mandurriao, Iloilo City as of July 8, 2020.

Dr. Sophia Abello, WVMC-SNL chief pathologist, said more than 3,000 tests remain unperformed due to the influx of specimens received in the past week.

“We have more than 3,000 unperformed tests mainly due to the influx of considerable number of specimens received, which is beyond the capacity of the testing center,” she said in a press conference on Wednesday.

WVMC-SNL is the sole COVID-19 testing laboratory in Panay Island. It can run up to 800 tests daily with a turnaround time of 24-48 hours.

However, massive contact tracing done in health facilities in Iloilo province and Iloilo City which recorded a clustering of COVID-19 cases resulted in backlogs in the processing of WVMC.

In the COVID-19-hit St. Paul’s Hospital Iloilo, wherein 11 of its doctors have tested positive for COVID-19, WVMC-SNL received almost 1,500 specimens from the contacts that were traced by the authorities.

“We have confirmed that there is already a community transmission in St. Paul’s Hospital. We estimate na we have collected 1,500 specimens from the combined figure of persons inside the hospital and those that were traced by the health facility and City Health Office (CHO),” Dr. Jane Juanico head of the infectious disease section of DOH-CHD 6 said.

According to Abello, almost 60 percent of the specimens from said private hospital have already been processed by the testing laboratory.

Abello admitted that the delay in the release of the results also causes delay in the contact tracing efforts of the concerned authorities.

Hence, she underscored the need of those who underwent swabbing to strictly follow quarantine protocols and stay at home.

“It will cause delay gid man sa contact tracing amo na after swabbing we recommend them to stay at home para indi na maspread if ever may mapositive pending the result,” she said.
WVMC-SNL has received 878 swab samples on June 29; 1,696 on June 30; 1,093 on July 1; 1,107 on July 2; 1,120 on July 3; 269 on July 4; and 106 on July 5.
Abello said they target to release the results of the samples from June 29-30 within 24 hours and other backlogs will follow after.

“Mabuhinan ang backlogs pero may madugang na naman so we need to cope. Amo na kon may mareceive kami we see to it nga makarelease kami double results kay kon indi, indi namon macope,” she noted.

Currently, only WVMC-SNL and Teresita Lopez Jalandoni Provincial Hospital in Silay City, Negros Occidental have been operating as COVID-19 testing laboratories in the region. (ERS)