THE Philippine National Police launched on Tuesday its first-ever Covid-19 Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) testing facility accredited by the Department of Health (DOH) inside Camp Crame.
Officials led by PNP chief Gen. Archie Gamboa witnessed the ceremonial blessing of the PNP Crime Laboratory DOH-accredited Covid-19 RT-PCR facility at the DNA Building of the PNP Crime Laboratory inside the PNP’s national headquarters.
Gamboa said the testing facility will operate on a limited capacity for 150 confirmatory tests per day and can be increased through automated system in response to the emerging number of police frontliners who have been infected with Covid-19.
“We see it clearly, there is a need to have our own testing center as you can see that there are increasing trend of Covid-19 cases among our police frontliners every day,” he said.
The DOH give its nod for the testing center’s operation last week.
Gamboa said the move to establish a full operational testing center was also prompted by the need to fast-track the results of each test of police personnel from the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM).
Aside from establishing the testing center, a mobile swabbing hub will be opened at the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) in Taguig City.
About 13 personnel will be assigned at the new testing facility, consisting of seven personnel from the PNP Crime Laboratory, while six others are from the PNP Health Service.
Meanwhile, Health Service Director Brig. Gen. Herminio Tadeo Jr. reported that four more police personnel have been infected with the virus, bringing the total cases to 281 as of Tuesday.
Tadeo said about 117 police personnel have recovered from the infectious disease under strict observation of PNP doctors.
Also, the Health Service recorded a total of 739 PNP personnel who are categorized as Probable Persons Under Investigation (Probable PUIs), while a total 594 personnel were recommended as Suspected Persons Under Investigation (Suspected PUIs).
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