ESTABLISHMENTS and online sellers doing business in Mandaue City could face administrative charges and revocation of their business permits for selling unregistered coronavirus disease (Covid-19) test kits and overcharging for in-demand products.

Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes said he will not hesitate to penalize anyone taking advantage of the public amid the pandemic.

He discouraged people from buying at-home coronavirus test kits being sold online because they may give falsely reassuring negative results.

“You might be a carrier of the virus, but after using the test kit, you get a false negative result and you become complacent. Then you could infect others. So let’s not trust those test kits sold online,” said Cortes in a mix of English and Cebuano.

Cortes advises individuals who experience mild flu-like symptoms to stay at home to prevent the spread of the virus.

He said only the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) has the skills and capacity to do the test and that Covid-19 testing can only be performed in a laboratory.

Earlier, Presidential Assistant to the Visayas Secretary Michael Lloyd Dino also warned the public against buying fake and unapproved Covid-19 diagnostic kits.

In Central Visayas, only Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC) here in Cebu is recognized as a sub-national laboratory operating alongside the RITM. (KFD)