AS THE city intensified its case finding effort in the community to identify infected individuals, Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC) expressed worry over the dwindling supply of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) test kits which might hamper mass testing.
SPMC chief Dr. Leopoldo Vega told SunStar Davao Friday, May 8, that there are additional reagents arrived in their hospital, however, their inventory may no longer be sufficient considering the surge of demand for testing in Mindanao due to the increasing number of infected patients.
“We are running low on reagents already,” Vega confirmed.
In March, SPMC received a total of 5,000 testing kits coming from the Department of Health (DOH) national after it has been identified as one of the subnational laboratories. The distribution of test kits aims to address backlog on test results across the country.
SPMC was also later on certified by the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) to independently conduct its own testing and release results on their level.
Being the only Covid-19 testing laboratory in Mindanao, SPMC is catering samples not only in Davao Region but also in other regions. In a previous interview, Vega said that SPMC caters an average of 60 to 80 samples per day.
The SPMC Molecular Laboratory can perform independent testing for Covid-19 by using real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing procedure, the gold standard in detecting the virus.
Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio said in a radio interview on Wednesday that aside from those within the barangay communities, the City Government has decided to include in the Covid-19 testing those working in the food delivery services because they might be a carrier of the virus.
However, SPMC is now confronted with the dwindling supply of test kits. Vega has yet to provide a statement on how they plan to address the shortage of Covid-19 testing kits.
Based on the Regional Situation Update on Covid-19 in Davao Region as of 5 p.m. on May 7, DOH-Davao Center for Health Development reported one new case of Covid-19 in Davao City, bringing the total number of cases in the region to 161.
Earlier, DOH Davao assistant director Dr. Lenny Joy Rivera said that their office is now facilitating the accreditation of the Davao Regional Medical Center (DRMC) to boost the testing capacity of the region for Covid-19.
Rivera cited the need to have more testing laboratories for faster detection of the virus.
There are already other laboratories and hospitals that signified their interest to be a Covid-19 testing laboratory.
Rivera said that, at present, they are prioritizing the testing of those people with signs and symptoms.