THE local government of Bago City has set the trend, as it launched a drive-thru swab testing for its residents.
Mayor Nicholas Yulo and his fellow officials approved the setting up of the drive-thru swab testing, the first of its kind among local government units in the province of Negros Occidental.
The testing station is located at the front yard of the historic ABAP Gym. On its first day, it was able to swab 21 residents.
This drive-thru concept will not only provide faster service to the people of Bago but also a much safer set-up because there is less face-to-face contact among those who will undergo the swab test.
City Health Office swab team leader medical technologist Glenly Casona said residents will be swabbed inside their own vehicles.
"We cannot practically do house to house testing due to lack of manpower. And also the reality that some Bagonhons are reluctant to undergo the swab test because they are not comfortable with the presence of an ambulance and medical technologists in Personal Protective Equipments in front of their houses," she said.
She said that with this system, the City can save money in purchasing PPEs because "you have to change it if it's done house to house."
The swabbers are happy that Bago City's Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Disease led by Yulo has approved their suggestion.
A resident of Bago may avail himself of the service for free provided he or she has an endorsement from the Contact Tracing Team or the Operations Center of the City Health Office.
They are open Mondays to Fridays from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.
During the afternoon, the CHO swabbers will conduct quarantine facility testing around the city for ROFs and LSIs.
Yulo witnessed the dry run Thursday morning, September 24.
He said the site will conduct swab tests and is one of the initiatives being made by the City Government to test as many Bagonhons as possible in order to curb the spread of Covid-19 in Bago.