MANILA – Rapid test kits (RTKs) for coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) will help the government to contain the spread of the virus as RTKs can also test asymptomatic persons, an adviser to President Rodrigo Duterte said.
During the Laging Handa public briefing Thursday, Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion said about 500,000 RTKs ordered by over 200 companies arrived in the country and will be used for the next two weeks to test their employees for free under the private sector-led Project ARK (antibody rapid test kits).
“All these testing will be done today until the next two weeks,” Concepcion, who is also the founder of Go Negosyo, said.
As the government allowed more businesses to open under a modified enhanced community quarantine status and general community quarantine status, companies are advised to test their employees especially those with illness or symptoms through polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing.
But under the Department of Health testing protocols, only those with Covid-19 symptoms can undergo PCR testing.
As the country still lacks equipment and facilities for PCR, Concepcion added RTKs will help the government to increase its level of Covid-19 testing, including those who are asymptomatic.
According to experts, PCR testing is the gold standard for Covid-19 testing as this is more accurate than RTKs.
However, PCR testing is more expensive costing between PHP4,000 to PHP8,000, than using RTKs that cost only PHP400.
PCR testing is also more complex as it needs bigger investments, such as accredited laboratories, machines, and training medical staff to handle the testing process.
In an online forum Wednesday, Marikina City 2nd District Rep. Stella Luz Quimbo supported the use of RTKs for Covid-19 testing but added the need to also ramp up capacity for PCR testing.
Quimbo said even RTKs reportedly have a false negative result rate of 15 percent, more individuals can be tested using RTKs and can help in determining asymptomatic individuals infected with Covid-19.
She added that with an estimated 40 percent incidence of asymptomatic individuals in the population in a country, doing an RTK mass testing with 15 percent false-negative result is better than the 40 percent with no mass testing at all.
Quimbo cited an incidence rate of asymptomatic Covid-19 infections in Iceland which is at 50 percent, 30 percent in China, 25 percent in South Korea, and up to 50 percent in the United States.
“But the question is which is higher: 40 percent or 15 percent? Clearly, 40 percent is higher, right? If you don’t do testing you’re stuck with 40 percent asymptomatic (population). If you do testing, the 15 percent false-negative you are down to 15 percent (asymptomatic). Of course, 15 percent is still high but certainly lower than 40,” she added. (PNA)
