TWO senators are pushing for mass testing for certain populations as a means to fast-track detention of Covid-infected people and arrest the spread of the virus, a day after regulators approved five brands of rapid-testing kits and was poised to approve one developed by Filipino scientists backed by the Department of Science and Technology.
Senators Sherwin Gatchalian and Panfilo Lacson aired similar calls Tuesday amid growing concerns on the need for immediate government action, as hospitals are straining from the influx of patients and authorities seek facilities for quarantine of persons under investigation and monitoring.
In a radio interview on Tuesday, Lacson assured the public that legislators prepared to frontload passage of remedial legislation to address the pandemic, and future crises.
“Naka-ready kami sa Kongreso [We in Congress are ready],” Lacson said, recalling the lawmakers’ quick action when the President requested authority to realign over P200 billion in the 2020 budget in order to fight the pandemic.
“Like I said, we acted quickly when the President sought authority. Now the backlog is in implementation,” he added.
He, however, acknowledged public observation, some posted on Facebook, saying that everyone acted too late. “I read a post by someone young, but the observation was right. It took us two months to ban flights.”
Lacson lamented the late approval of Covid test kits, even as the acquisition had long been approved. “The rapid test kits were approved, what took them so long?” asked Lacson, noting that these test kits were already being used by other countries.
The senator said that if one is found positive in rapid test kits that were approved by regulatory agencies in the country that supplied them and are even using the same kits, it only means that “if you are positive, that is virtual positive, no doubt you are positive. But if you are negative, it could also be false negative.” This is why validation is still necessary. But the positive results already help authorities sift through cases.
Gatchalian weighs in
For his part, Gatchalian said he supports not just mass testing, but efforts to ensure the results are used in an efficient way to guide policy and action.
He clarified that the results are not just for the DOH records on number of cases but also for local governments, to enable LGUs to come up with effective strategies to limit the infection in their localities.
He made it clear, in a mix of English and Filipino, that mass testing is being pitched, “not just because it is being done by other countries, or because it’s a fad or because we read about it constantly.”
The senator added they are backing the “mass testing” strategy so that the results can be provided to local governments to enable them to contain and prevent spreading the virus. “This mass testing is a tool for local governments to prevent the virus from spreading in their communities. Remember, on the ground the mayors, barangay captains and governors are the ones acting and they need the tools to determine if what they’re doing is effective or not. What’s important for our local governments is to prevent the infection from spreading and they need to know who are infected or not; otherwise, they’re blind.”
In many cases, Gatchalian noted, people have already died of what was listed as “pneumonia,” yet the results confirming they had Covid-19 come out only days later.
Image credits: DOST