Malabon to start antigen testing at barangays with high transmission of COVID-19

The Malabon government is set to conduct antigen testing for residents living in villages with increasing number of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infections on Tuesday, Vice President Leni Robredo said Monday.

This after the Office of the Vice President, Malabon government, and other stakeholders formally launched Swab Cab, a funding program for antigen tests aimed at faster detection and isolation of COVID-19 patients.

"'Yung mga bus magpapark doon sa barangay na mataas ang transmission... pero gusto natin ito mabilis na pagtest. May RT-PCR na ginagawa ang LGU Malabon so itong antigen ay magko-complement 'yung RT-PCR and hopefully kapag mabilis tayong magrespond, mabilis din natin maa-isolate at mabilis natin macontain," Robredo said during the virtual launch of Swab Cab.

(Buses will be parked at barangays with high transmission but we want faster testing. Since Malabon is already conducting RT-PCR test, this antigen test will complement that and hopefully if we respond promptly, we can immediately isolate and contain the virus.)

For Malabon City administrator Voltaire dela Cruz, the antigen tests would also boost detection of close contacts of COVID-19 patients.

"Dito sa Malabon napakaimportante ng testing. Ang ating contact tracing ay aktibo na naghahanap ng contacts subalit dahil ang ginagamit ay RT-PCR medyo mabagal ang resulta ng testing. Kaya dito sa rapid antigen test, magkakaroon ng diagnostic testing na mas mabilis para 'yung ating na-identify na contacts at nagpositive ay madaling mahiwalay," Dela Cruz said during the online launch.

(Our contact tracing and testing are active but since we use the RT-PCR, the processing and release of results is slower. With the rapid antigen test, we will have diagnostic testing which will allow us to immediately identify the contacts and easily isolate COVID-19-infected patients.)

Robredo said the three Swab Cab buses will be deployed at villages with high transmission of COVID-19. Compared to RT-PCR which releases results from 24 to 48 hours, antigen tests will be conducted for not more than five minutes while results will be released from 15 to 20 minutes.

Robredo added that the local government of Malabon will identify who will be tested and deploy personnel that would serve residents who would be tested.

A total of 3,040 care kits and 3,000 antigen test kits were turned over to Malabon government to begin testing in its locality, the Office of the Vice President said.

The swab areas inside the bus have plastic barriers to prevent droplet transmission while getting the residents' specimen. There will also be an usher stationed outside of the bus to prevent overcrowding and promote social distancing inside the testing platform.

After getting tested, residents will receive a care package which includes face shields and face masks so that they will follow minimum health protocols.

Donations from Kaya Natin Movement led by Harvey Keh helped provide funding for the Swab Cab while modern bus service UBE (Ultimate Bus Experience) Express assisted in Swab Cab's logistics, said Robredo.

Additionally, the Vice President hoped that other local government units that plan to conduct antigen tests may use other modes of transportation that will observe social distancing.

"Hopefully, kung mareplicate sa ibang lugar, hindi naman kailangang bus. Kahit anong vehicle basta pwede magpunta sa lugar na napakataas ang transmission," Robredo said.

Garrie David of UBE Express suggested using this system for COVID-19 immunization program to avoid mass gathering at vaccination centers.

"Kung ito ay nagagamit sa pagswab, pwede pong tignan ng OVP pati po sa vaccination pwede po gamitin. Bakit hindi natin dalhin sa pamayanan imbes na pamayanan ang pumupunta kung saan saan," he said during the official launch of Swab Cab.

(If we can use this for swab, maybe the OVP can also look at using this for vaccination. Why don't we go to them instead of people going to vaccination centers.)

March 24 data from Malabon City Health Office showed that the city has 9,072 total confirmed cases with 1,061 active cases, 314 deaths and 7,697 recoveries. Barangay Tonsuya has the highest number of COVID-19 cases, with 131. This followed by Barangay Potrero with 117 cases and Barangay Tugatog with 91 cases.

In a bid to stop the surge of virus cases, Palace is also looking into using antigen tests to detect possible cases of COVID-19 in each household.—AOL, GMA News