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RITM photo
MANILA, Philippines – Forty-three employees of the Tropical Medicine Research Institute (RITM) tested positive for COVID-19, resulting in the downsizing of the country’s main virus testing center.
“Hindi naman po sila seriously ill. ‘Yung was slightly ill, so the quarantine naka lang po sila issued in a shared residence.” RITM Director Dr. Celia Carlos said in an interview broadcast on CNN Philippines.
(They are not seriously ill. Some of them are slightly sick, so they are quarantined in a bedroom here. Some of them have mildly but not very serious symptoms, so they were admitted to a hospital.)
Carlos said they are not sure if employees were infected within RITM facilities or their communities, as they also participated in other activities outside of work.
On Saturday, April 18, Dr. Tony Leachon, adviser to the government’s coronavirus task force, posted the RITM notice on his Facebook account, saying that the RITM has downsized its operations “out of consideration for the safety of its staff responding to COVID- 19 Public Health Emergency from April 16, 2020 to April 24, 2020. “
The notice added that the RITM would only process specimens of Muntinlupa, Parañaque, Las Piñas and Pasay City from April 17.
“To avoid delays in testing and publication of results, RITM will forward samples currently received to activated sub-national laboratories and partner COVID-19 laboratories,” the notice said.
To date, the Philippines has 17 coronavirus testing centers across the country. (READ: Where are the coronavirus testing centers in PH?)
“Only RITM labs are affected by this temporary slowdown, our hospital operations will remain in full swing. Our main concern at the moment is the well-being of employees, “Carlos said in a statement sent to the media on Monday night.
As a result of its reduced manpower, approximately 5,000 samples are awaiting COVID-19 confirmation at RITM laboratories. The RITM said it has coordinated with different government agencies to address the problem.
To help RITM overcome this situation, the Department of Health (DOH) has prescribed a temporary zoning system for the referral of samples to the 16 accredited testing centers.
Before the reduction, Carlos said the RITM could process between 1,500 and 2,000 tests per day. She, however, was unable to give a definitive number on how many samples the facility can process given the slowdown.
“The priority of the samples is from the employees. It is a process of sample processing.” Carlos said.
(Our priority for now is samples from our employees. When we are done with them, we can process other samples.)
The RITM said it is optimistic that the delays will be removed by the end of the month.
The DOH, on Sunday, April 19, said the RITM slowdown could affect the counting of the country’s coronavirus cases in the coming days.
A total of 766 health workers have been infected with the coronavirus, of whom 339 are doctors and 242 are nurses. At least 22 health workers have died from the coronavirus.
As of Monday, the Philippines recorded 6,459 coronavirus cases, with 418 deaths and 16 recoveries. – Rappler.com
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