No mass testing? DOH says Philippines engaged in 'expanded' testing

The Philippine government is engaged in expanded COVID-19 testing rather than mass testing, Health Undersecretary Ma. Rosario Vergeire said Tuesday, amid Malacanang's statement that the country doesn't have enough resources to conduct mass testing.

“Ang sinasabi po natin ay expanded testing. Nung initial months po, we are testing the vulnerable and severe cases. We have since expanded it to include those with mild symptoms,” Vergeire said in a forum hosted by the Department of Health (DOH).

“Even asymptomatic is being tested now, but only those with exposure [to COVID-19 patients],” she added.

Vergeire said that with limited resources, the government’s efforts should be focused.

“We are trying to veer away from this term of mass testing because when you say mass testing, it is indiscriminate testing, which is not the case [for us],” she said.

“Kailangan tayo mag-focus. Kailangan natin i-test ang mga may exposure [sa COVID-19 patients] at may mga sintomas. Hindi po natin ikinakaila na hindi ganun karami ang ating resources, pero ang protocol po natin ay expanded testing,” Vergeire added.

Government data showed that as of May 13, the country had conducted a total of 189,469 tests on 184,857 individuals. From May 8 to 13, the average of conducted tests was 7,809 tests per day.

The government aims to conduct at least 30,000 tests a day by the end of the month.

As of Monday, the Philippines had 12,718 COVID-19 cases, with 831 deaths and 2,729 recoveries based on the Monday data of the DOH. --KBK, GMA News