CLARK FREEPORT—A $2.5-million laboratory equipment and 45,000 test kits funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and developed by a genome sequencing company in China arrived at the Clark International Airport here early morning Wednesday.
The cargo shipment is expected to boost the capacity of the JBL Memorial Regional Hospital (JBLMRH) in Central Luzon in the detection and testing of the highly infectious Covid-19.
A Philippine Air Force C-130 cargo plane flew in the laboratory equipment and test kits materials developed by the Beijing Genome Institute (BGI) from Shenzhen, China.
The lab equipment which can facilitate and capable of having a capacity of 3,000 tests per day will be commissioned and installed at JBLMRH at the City of San Fernando, Pampanga, making it a Pandemic Subnational Reference Laboratory (PSRL) in the country.
Kim Wong’s donation
IN a related development, a news statement said online gaming executive Kim Wong has donated thousands of Covid-19 rapid test kits and personal protective gear to beef up government supplies for frontline workers.
Wong turned over 20,000 rapid test kits, 200,000 surgical masks, 6,000 3M N95 face masks, 3,000 PPEs and 1,000 goggles during a command conference at the Department of National Defense. These donations were on top of the 75,000 rapid test kits he earlier donated to various local government units, the AFP and Philippine National Police.
According to Wong, the test kits are intended for inbound seafarers, overseas Filipino workers and returning Filipinos from Covid-19 infected countries. Since 45,000 of them are arriving in the next few weeks at a rate of about 2,500 persons per day, Wong said, he will donate another 25,000 test kits to fill the gap. The protective gear, on the other hand, are for frontline workers and those receiving and processing returning Filipinos.
Defense Secretary Delfin N. Lorenzana, National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon, Undersecretary and Office of Civil Defense chief Ricardo Jalad, Admiral Joel Garcia of the Philippine Coast Guard and Transport Undersecretary Art Tuason received Wong’s donation on behalf of the Philippine government.
Aside from Covid-19 rapid test kits and PPEs, the online gaming executive continues to donate thousands of relief packs to various LGUs consisting of rice, canned goods, coffee, disinfectants and thermal scanners. With Rene Acosta