ILOILO City – Western Visayas Medical Center (WVMC) sub-national laboratory’s backlogs in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) testing reached 3,200 specimens as of July 8, according to Dr. Stephanie Abello, chief pathologist.
“Six hundred of these are waiting to be loaded sa RT-PCR (real time – polymerase chain reaction) machine, 414 for scanning and 420 for signing,” said Abello.
The remaining specimens were stored in a refrigerator while waiting for processing.
The WVMC sub-national laboratory started operating in March. It has since received 31,898 specimens for testing.
According to Abello, the backlog surged following the lockdown of two hospitals – St. Paul’s Hospital of Iloilo in this city and Pedro L. Gindap Municipal Hospital in Barbaza, Antique – these past two weeks. They have healthcare workers who tested positive for COVID-19.
“Massive contact tracing was conducted and lots of specimens were collected for testing. Last week the laboratory received over 4,000 samples,” said Abello.
The WVMC sub-national laboratory releases an average of 400 results daily but to address the backlogs it would be doubling its output, said Abello.
She also acknowledged that the delayed release of test results would delay the conduct of contact tracing, therefore increasing the risk of virus transmission.
“That’s why after swabbing the person concerned should just stay home until the test result is released. Para indi mag-spread (virus) if ever may mag-positive,” said Abello.
In a related development, the Iloilo provincial government announced it would lend its RT-PCR machine to WVMC to boost the latter’s testing capacity.
Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr. said the machine, worth P2.7 million, is for use of the Iloilo Provincial Hospital where another COVID-19 testing laboratory is being constructed.
“But in the meantime we will put it at WVMC. We will also put personnel there so we can train them,” he said.
The provincial government will also lend its fully-automated RNA extraction machine worth P1.950 million to the WVMC. The machine helps shorten the turnaround time for test results.
Both machines are expected to be delivered to the province within the week.
The provincial government’s Hospital Management Office chief Dr. Cynthia Ng said the province has also lent two desktop computers and two ventilators to WVMC.
Meanwhile, the construction of the COVID-19 laboratory at the provincial hospital is ongoing. An amount of P9 million was allotted for its construction sourced from the Bayanihan Fund.
“We are building our own laboratory not only for COVID-19. That is really part of the plan of the provincial government to upgrade our hospital capability, among others, and when COVID-19 came we put RT-PCR test lab there,” Defensor said. (With a report from LHC, Capitol News/PN)
