CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga — A laboratory testing center for early detection of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) will be set up at the Jose B. Lingad Memorial Regional Hospital (JBLMRH) here.
Governor Dennis Pineda on Friday announced that the provincial government of Pampanga is lending a machine to JBLMRH to immediately start doing Covid-19 mass testing in Pampanga and six other Central Luzon provinces.
Pineda said the machine which is capable of tests using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was donated to the provincial government by businessman Wilfredo Keng.
The governor said that Keng, chair of Century Peak Group of Companies, also donated personal protective equipment (PPE), 10,000 disposable face masks, 1,000 pieces of sterile gloves, 500 protective suits, 100 protective goggles, and 50 thermal scanners.
The donation also came with 1,000 test kits still kept in a freezer at the V. Luna Medical Center in Quezon City.
“Ang makina po ay ating pinahihiram indefinitely sa JBLMRH para masimulan na po ang Covid-19 mass testing sa Pampanga at sa ibang probinsya ng Central Luzon. Atin ang makina, sa JBLMRH ang personnel. Ganito po ang ating tulungan (We will lend indefinitely the machine to JBLMRH to start the Covid-19 mass testing in Pampanga and for other provinces in Central Luzon. The machine is ours and the personnel is from JBLMRH. This is our cooperative efforts),” Pineda said.
The structure that will house the equipment and a laboratory was built by a construction firm owned by Provincial Board Member Ferdinand Labung.
Pineda thanked Keng for helping in the government’s efforts to stop the spread of Covid-19.
He also thanked Andrea Domingo, chair of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. for helping facilitate Keng’s donation to Pampanga.
Pineda signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the JBLMRH and the Department of Health for the joint use of the equipment.
Under the MOA, JBLMRH staff trained by the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) will test and operate the equipment.
Pineda offered the joint use of the equipment as JBLMRH’s new laboratory is scheduled for pickup in the Chinese city of Shenzhen on April 24.
Dr. Monserrat Chichioco, JBLMRH medical director, said the JBLMRH’s diagnostic molecular pathology laboratory is a grant from the Asian Development Bank. (PNA)
