MAYOR Sara Duterte-Carpio said the city will soon have an "overwhelming" number of testing machines, boosting the city's testing capability for the Covid-19.
"Once up and running na (Once the machines are now up and running), that will not be limited to Davao City. Pwede siya gamiton sa mga specimen from other parts of Mindanao (It can also be used to serve the rest of Mindanao)," the mayor said on Tuesday, September 1, in a radio interview via 87.5 FM Davao City Disaster Radio.
Duterte-Carpio said the City Government already has three sets of Covid-19 testing machines, which include the RNA Extraction machine and two reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) machines and its accessories.
Two of the three sets are from donations from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and the Department of Tourism (DOT).
On Monday, August 31, DBM Secretary Wendel Avisado turned over a Fully Automated Nucleic Acid Extraction System Natch CS and two RT-PCR machines to be used in the Davao City Covid-19 testing laboratory in Barangay Los Amigos in Tugbok District.
According to the mayor, the DBM-donated RNA extraction machine can process 96 specimens in one hour, and the RT-PCR machine can read results of up to 3,000 specimens if operated for 24 hours.
Duterte-Carpio, meanwhile, said the DOT will also donate Covid-19 testing machines, as it will also establish a testing laboratory to augment the city's testing capacity for airline passengers. It will also be located at the Los Amigos Health Center. The mayor was not able to disclose the number of specimens it can cater to.
The mayor also said that a private pharmaceutical company is also set to establish a Covid-19 testing laboratory, complete with testing machines, which will be donated to the local government.
Duterte-Carpio said while she is thankful for the donations, she admitted she was worried about where to place the donated machines.
"Ang worry namo is kung asa siya nga laboratory because daghan na kaayo [ta og machines] (We got worried about which laboratory to house it in because we have received a number of machines)," the mayor said.
She said prior to receiving the donations, the City Government also purchased its own set of Covid-19 testing machines, which would also be placed at the Los Amigos testing center, projected to operate in November this year.
While the mayor was not able to disclose the amount, she said the City Government utilized a portion of the P476-million Bayanihan Grant to Cities and Municipalities (BGCM) under the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act from the National Government.
The local government purchased the machines because, at that time, no group or individual expressed their intention to donate.
As for the DBM-donated machines, Duterte-Carpio said the city will utilize it once there will be a large number of specimens needed to be tested in the city.
At present, the Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC) is the only Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM)-accredited center in the city in conducting Covid-19 testing.
SPMC, as of press time, can now cater to more than 1,000 tests per day after two private companies also donated two separate Covid-19 testing machines to the hospital.
The Los Amigos center, meanwhile, is currently waiting for accreditation from RITM.
Duterte-Carpio said there is a need to boost the city's testing capacity to help curb the spread of the Covid-19 transmission.