A new laboratory for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) testing in Iloilo City was inaugurated on Tuesday, Dec. 15.
The West Visayas State University Medical Center (WVSUMC) Molecular Diagnostic Center is the city’s fifth COVID-19 testing lab. It is expected to be operational next week.
According to Dr. Anna Victoria Sumbong, a pathologist at WVSUMC, the laboratory already passed the proficiency test of the Department of Health (DOH).
“We are just waiting for the DOH to issue a license to operate for the laboratory,” she said.
The laboratory will be manned by 14 personnel, including 3 trained medical technologists, 1 pathologist, and 2 encoders.
During the inauguration, OIC medical center chief Dr. Dave Endel Gelito III said the laboratory will enable WVSUMC to provide efficient and effective RT-PCR tests not only for their patients and health workers but also for all residents of Iloilo and other provinces in the Western Visayas region.
The new COVID-19 facility is likewise expected to fast-track testing and release of results in Iloilo.
Gelito said early diagnosis is important in stopping or slowing down the transmission of the novel coronavirus.
The construction of the WVSUMC Molecular Diagnostic Center started in September and was completed early this month.
The four other licensed COVID-19 testing labs in the city are the Western Visayas Medical Center (WVMC) Sub-National Laboratory, QualiMed Hospital Iloilo RT-PCR Testing Laboratory, Metro Iloilo Hospital and Medical Center (MIHMC), Inc. COVID-19 Testing Laboratory, and the city government-run Uswag Molecular Laboratory.Angelique Amira Jabian/IMT
Photo by Arnold Almacen
