AFTER intensive disinfection and deployment of new personnel, the Davao City Government-owned Los Amigos Molecular Laboratory in Tugbok is back in operation.
The disinfection of Los Amigos Molecular Laboratory was conducted to stem transmission of the coronavirus at the facility after its employees contracted the disease.
The affected employees are currently in quarantine and have been replaced with new health personnel.
Davao City Covid-19 Task Force Spokesperson Dr. Michelle Schlosser in an interview over the Davao City Disaster Radio Wednesday, September 22, 2021, said the situation at the laboratory has been mitigated and managed to allow operation.
"All of those employees na nagpositive naka-isolate na po sila, na-decontaminate na ang area and that is why as of the moment functional ang Los Amigos Molecular lab, there are also a new set of employees," Schlosser confirmed.
(All those employees who were identified to be positive are in isolation, and the area is also decontaminated. That is why as of the moment, the Los Amigos Molecular Lab is functional. There are also a new set of employees.)
She said the functional lab allows the city to continue the swab testing for the high-risk cases (F1 and those with influenza-like symptoms).
Swab testing has been limited to high-risk cases due to the limited supply of detection kits and the needed repair of the molecular laboratory extraction machine to run swab specimens at the Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC).
Schlosser said the repair of the extraction machine at SPMC is still ongoing.
"Hopefully, we are pushing that within this week or early next week everything will be fully operational again," Schlosser said.
She reminded that F2 or F3 who cannot yet be accommodated at the swabbing centers can go to private swabbing centers to know their status. Those who will feel Covid-19 symptoms could automatically go to swab centers as they will be part of the priority being persons with ILIs.
The City Government of Davao through its Facebook post on Wednesday reminded the public that those who were in close contact with coronavirus-positive patients and experiencing symptoms are advised to seek advice at the nearest health center and follow the instruction from the District health doctors.
They may call or text the district's hotline numbers available at bit.ly/DistrictVaxHotlines.
They may also reach the Davao City Covid-19 Operations Center hotline numbers. For Globe, for calls only: (0927) 604 5797, for text only, (0906) 367 4671. For Smart, for calls only, (0919) 071 1111, for text only (0939) 340 5675. For telephone, (082) 244- 0181. (PR)