THE molecular biology laboratory set up by the Philippine National Police (PNP) Regional Health Service in Camp Sotero Cabahug in Cebu City is now licensed to conduct tests for Sars-CoV-2, the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).

Lieutenant General Guillermo Eleazar, PNP officer-in-charge, on Wednesday, March 24, 2021, said the Department of Health (DOH) issued a license to operate for the laboratory on March 12, 2021. The permit is valid until December 31, 2021.

On March 16, the DOH issued a clearance to operate after the PNP completed regulatory requirements and training of its medical personnel who will man the facility.

"The PNP assures a full support system to the health safety and medical needs of policemen, especially those who are deployed as frontliners in implementing government measures to protect the public from coronavirus infection," said Eleazar.

"This latest adition to the PNP technical capacity for early detection of Covid-19 among its personnel, supports the DOH program of aggressive testing as part of the national response to the Covid-19 pandemic," he added.

Eleazar said the laboratory will cater to PNP personnel from police regional offices in Western, Central and Eastern Visayas.

The facility is capable of 60 to 80 manual tests and 120 to 180 automated Covid-19 tests daily.

The PNP-RHS-7 molecular laboratory is the fifth RT-PCR laboratory being operated by the PNP.

The two others are located in Camp Crame and can accommodate 420 tests per day. Two others are in Davao City, which have a combined daily testing capacity of 320, serving the PNP units in the six regions of Mindanao.

As of March 23, a total of 13,453 policemen have contracted the virus. There are 1,504 active cases while 36 succumbed to Covid-19. (SunStar Philippines)