Davao City Mayor Inday Sara Duterte on Saturday said no mass testing will take place in the city even though four laboratories are now preparing to test for the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).
âGusto lang nako i-manage ang expectation sa mga tao, kani siya, mapadaghan lang nato ang testing pero dili ni siya mass testing,â Mayor Inday said over the city-operated Davao City Disaster Radio.
Mayor Inday said that the four laboratories were awaiting accreditation from the Department of Health and will complement the testing capability of the Southern Philippine Medical Center (SPMC), which can only accommodate 80 tests per day.
The four laboratories are that of the Davao Doctors Hospital, another privately-owned laboratory, that of the Department of Health and the city-operated TB center.
âWhat we will do is pursue ang atoang mga laboratories para mapadaghan nato (testing), more than what we have now which is 80 a day,â she added.
Alongside the intention of increasing laboratories, Mayor Inday said that the city is also looking to increase the number of its isolation facilities and to intensify case finding.
She also said that people should not expect the normal to return too soon as the virus can only be defeated when a cure or a vaccine has already been found.
âBisan paman nga naa tay mga in-ani nga lakang dili gihapon ta mabalik sa normal nga pwede ta mugawas, because walay tambal ang Covid-19 ug wala sad kini bakuna,â she said. CIO
