TACLOBAN CITY – The Department of Health (DOH) regional office here will start next week the mass testing of suspected coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) carriers in Eastern Visayas.
In a virtual press briefing here on Friday, DOH Regional Director Minerva Molon said mass testing will be done in four areas in the region with confirmed cases of Covid-19.
These are Catarman, Northern Samar; Calbayog City, Samar; Tarangnan, Samar; and Burauen, Leyte.
“The targets are suspected Covid-19 carriers who are either hospitalized or at home isolation, health workers, vulnerable groups like elderly and those with other serious illness and pregnant women who live in areas with confirmed Covid-19 case,” Molon said.
Village front-liners in communities with identified confirmed cases are also considered for mass testing.
The regional office initially identified 138 individuals who will undergo mass testing using oropharyngeal and nasopharyngeal swabbing. The figure does not include the people identified by the local government units in their contact tracing.
After samples are taken, this will be sent to the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center in Cebu City.
The lack of personal protective equipment remains to be a challenge in doing mass testing in the region, Molon said.
“Provisions of personal protective equipment (PPE) remain a challenge for us because the supply for Eastern Visayas does not arrive yet. So right now, we will depend on the local government units,” she said.
At least seven residents in the region have tested positive of Covid-19 since March.
While four are already discharged from hospital care and management, two are still confined at the Eastern Visayas Regional Medical Center, the region’s referral hospital for Covid-19 patients.
The seventh patient, which was confirmed by DOH late Friday, will be admitted at Burauen District Hospital in Burauen, Leyte.
The latest case is a 25-year-old niece of the first case in Burauen town. (PNA)
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