BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – Negros Occidental’s second molecular laboratory at the Valladolid District Hospital in the town of Valladolid, Negros Occidental has officially opened.
Atty. Rayfrando Diaz, provincial administrator, said Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson attended the inauguration alongside Mayor Enrique Miravalles, La Carlota City’s Mayor Rex Jalando-on and Teresita Lopez Jalandoni Provincial Hospital (TLJPH) chief Dr. Mary Ann Maestral.
Diaz said all specimens from the southern part of Negros Occidental would now be subjected to reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test at the Valladolid District Hospital, instead of at the TLJPH in Silay City.
Collection time at the Valladolid District Hospital is from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. and from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
For private individuals, Diaz said, the molecular lab will charge a fee, while contact tracing teams from local government units in the province will be for free.
With the operation of the new molecular laboratory, waiting time for RT-PCR test results may be lowered to 24 hours.
The laboratory uses only a minimum number of personnel as most of the work is robotic, which also eliminates the risk of laboratory workers being exposed to the virus.
The testing capacity is expected to be around 1,000 specimens daily./PN
