BACOLOD CITY, Negros Occidental, Philippines – The Department of Health has confirmed that it will be sending 100 Universal Transport Medium (UTM) or testing kits for use here in the city and the province.
This was revealed by Bacolod Cong. Greg Gasataya in an interview with DNX.
Gasataya and the other representatives of Negros Occidental earlier wrote Department of Health Sec. Francisco Duque seeking help for several concerns including the regular and consistent flow of supply of medical supplies, including available test kits.
Of the 100 kits, Gasataya said 20 of these will be for Bacolod, 30 for the Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital, 30 for the province of Negros Occidental, and the remaining 20 as “buffer” or contingency.
“This is something that our brothers and sisters have been anxiously waiting for,” the congressman said.
These are all expected to arrive tomorrow. (UPDATE: The kits are arriving today, according to the latest update from the congressman).
Gasataya said they could not just buy the available test kits sold online because of their dubious quality.
“We are going for accuracy and I doubt that those sold online have been greenlit by the FDA,” he said.
The national government is also thinking of using military planes to transport specimen for transfer to Research Institute for Tropical Medicine for confirmatory testing.
Gasataya is also hoping that a regional testing facility would push through, and immediately.
“This is something that we are hoping for, but that kind of project requires facilities and equipment,” he said.
