DUE to the limited number of swabbers and test vials, only 300 individuals were catered at Davao City’s swab center near the Crocodile Park while some were forced to go home without being swabbed at all.
Second and third generation (F2 and F3) contacts who have been notified to undergo mandatory Covid-19 testing through the Safe Davao QR (DQR) Code are instructed to be swabbed in either the one near the Davao Crocodile Park or Sta. Ana Health Center.
Paul Peter Lahot was among those who were notified through the push notification of the Safe Davao QR (DQR) that he had a close contact with a confirmed Covid-19 patient who entered a shopping area on May 19 around 2 p.m.
Lahot told SunStar Davao said he was among those who were swabbed on Tuesday morning, May 25. He was supposed to be swabbed the day before but was not due to the cutoff set by health authorities at the swabbing area.
To be included in the 150 limit for walk-in, he said he had to be at the Crocodile Park as early as 1 a.m. Davao City has a curfew between 9 p.m. to 4 a.m.
"1 a.m. ko nag start [og] line didto kay 150 per tao nga walk-in tas 200 per tao nga drive-thru lang ang i-cater. Need pa mag sayo mangadlawon sa Croc Park (Crocodile Park) para lang maapil ka sa limit nila na ma cater (I already lined up as already as 1 a.m. because they will only cater 150 for walk-in while 200 for the drive-thru. There is a need for me to be that early at Croc park just to be catered limited slots)," Lahot said in an interview on Messenger.
He was swabbed around 9:30 a.m.
He said he was lucky to have been swabbed before the cutoff, but he feels sorry for those who also lined up and waited early.
He also noted the lack of personnel in charge in controlling the lines.
"Tambag lang unta nako, dapat magbilin sila [og] tao didto sa area kung asa magsagawa [og] test na kung asa siya mag-cooperate sa mga tao didto kay nagkagubot ganina tungod wala nagkadimao ang among line, walay mag-guide ba (I hope the city would augment more personnel who will monitor the lines because there was a commotion due to the disorganized lines. No one was there to guide us)," Lahot said.
He also hopes the City Government would add more swab areas in the city to avoid long lines and congestion.
Aldrin Ighot Lubiano, in a separate interview, was also in the area to avail the drive-thru swab testing.
In his case, Lubiano was already at the Crocodile Park around 4 a.m.
He said the drive-thru swabbing is way more convenient compared to those walk-ins.
"Ika-30 nako sa pila sa drive-thru lane nila tapos sa mga walk-in maoy medyo luoy ky siyempre 4 a.m. pa ang uban tapos naabtan na sa cut off. Uli gyud sila (I was the 30th on the drive thru line. I feel bad for those in the walk-in lane because they went to the area as early as 4 a.m., only to be cut off. They had no choice but to go home)," Lubiano said.
Compared to Sta. Ana Health Center, he said it is more convenient to be swabbed at Crocodile Park as social distancing will be properly observed due to its spacious area.
"Kung sa mga individual nga gusto mag pag swab test, mas OK kung magrenta sila og sakyanan kay comportable magsakyan unlike sa magpila ka sa individual kay lisod kaayo (To individuals who will undergo swab test at Croc Park, it is advisable to rent a car because it is more comfortable unlike if you would line up in the walk-in lane, it is inconvenient)," Lubiano said.
Photos of the long lines at Crocodile Park also went viral online.
Dr. Nikita Marie Jamiana, City Health Office District Health Physician, said in an ambush interview with the media that they have to set a cut-off due to the limited number of swabbers, and test vials.
"'Yun kasing dissemination ng ating DQR (Because of the DQR push notification), they can go here without schedule. Unfortunately, we have a limited number of swabbers. If we have two teams for the day, depende sa availability ng swabbers (it depends on the availability of the swabbers), we can only accommodate 300," Jamiana said.
But she said if they have three teams, they can cater up to 500 individuals.
Since the expansion of the swab testing at Crocodile Park started May 18, Jamiana said they already swabbed more than 2,000 individuals.
Despite the limited number of swabbers, they were able to swab a total of 365 on Tuesday morning.
Jamiana said they also conduct a headcount to determine up to whom they can swab and who to instruct to go home and come back.
Duterte-Carpio, meanwhile, in a radio interview on Monday, May 24, said the City Government will be hiring 30 more swabbers to augment the city's Covid-19 swab testing efforts.
The mayor said maintaining its manpower is a struggle as other swabbers resigned or left.
“We need to continuously recruit and train para di gyud ta mahutdan og swabbers. So ang atoang HRMO [Human Resource Management Office] padayon sila sa pagrecruit og mga swabbers ug doctors (so we won’t run out of swabbers. The HRMO is continuously recruiting swabbers and doctors),” Duterte-Carpio said in an interview on 87.5 FM Davao City Disaster Radio.
The city is also targeting to designate People’s Park and the newly renovated Rizal Park as an additional major swabbing site. The City also aims to set up swabbing centers at the District Health Offices.
The local government has established a swabbing site in Barangay Ilang in Tibungco, Barangay Talomo River in Calinan and Barangay Toril Proper.
Crocodile Park swabbing center is open Mondays to Sundays from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. They will cater to individuals without the need for scheduled reservation.
For Sta. Ana Health Center, they will be open Mondays to Fridays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Saturday from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. Individuals will have to schedule for a swab test for them to be catered.