MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – A private pharma company in Mandaluyong has received accreditation from the Department of Health (DOH) to test for coronavirus in the Philippines.
Detoxicare Molecular Diagnostics claims it is the first privately-owned coronavirus testing lab, which will add to the list of government facilities accredited to test for coronavirus.
Detoxicare will also employ Real-Time polymerase chain reaction or RT-PCR test, which uses actual swabs from patients and determine the actual presence of the coronavirus.
Another type of test being discussed are rapid test kits, which require the patient's blood sample and can only detect antibodies.
“Right now, our hospitals need every possible help they could get their hands on to hasten the testing process, because this will dictate the pace of the rest of the procedures – from admitting patients who turned positive, to administering the necessary care, to helping them towards recovery," said Gjay Ordinal, president of Detoxicare Philippines.
As of Saturday, April 25, there are now 7,294 confirmed coronavirus cases, with a total death toll of 494, and recoveries of 792.
(Editor's Note: On Sunday, April 26, Detoxicare sent Rappler an email clarifying that it failed to state that the photos it submitted were file photos taken during the lab's opening last year. The lab requested for an amendment to the captions for accuracy.)
