QUEZON'S 1ST MOLECULAR LAB. Lucena City Mayor Roderick Alcala (left), Governor Danilo Suarez (2nd from left), and Lucena United Doctor’s Hospital and Medical Center president, Dr. Gerardo Carmelo Salazar (4th from right), launch the first molecular diagnostic laboratory in Quezon, located in the capital city. The province has 81 cases of Covid-19. (Photo courtesy of Lucena City PIO)
LUCENA CITY – The provincial government of Quezon expects to better manage and control the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) with the opening of the first Molecular Diagnostic Laboratory 2+ here.
Governor Danilo Suarez, Lucena City Mayor Roderick Alcala, and Dr. Gerardo Carmelo Salazar, president of Lucena United Doctor’s Hospital and Medical Center (LUDHMC), led the inauguration rites for the facility on Tuesday.
The laboratory passed the proficiency test conducted by the Department of Health last week.
In an interview, Alcala said the city government has pledged an initial fund of PHP6 million for the laboratory while the provincial government committed another PHP6 million.
Salazar said the laboratory will begin to operate once its license and certification are released by the DOH. Its four medical technologists have also acquired DOH accreditation.
The Molecular Diagnostic Laboratory 2+ will have an initial testing capacity of 90 swab samples per day, with results coming out within 24 to 48 hours.
Salazar said the facility is the result of private-public partnership efforts. The city and provincial governments shall provide the personal protective equipment for the health workers as well as the budget for the testing kits. The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) will shoulder the procedural expenses at LUDHMC, which is a private hospital.
At present, there is a total of 81 confirmed Covid-19 cases in Quezon province with 54 recoveries and eight deaths.
The molecular diagnostic center in this capital city is the third in Calabarzon region. The other two are at the University of the Philippines in Los Baños, Laguna and De La Salle University in Cavite. (PNA)
