BAGUIO City Assistant Health Officer Dr. Celiaflor Brillantes said mass testing in the city is now put on halt with zero tests kits at hand.
Brillantes said mass testing was stopped since April 27 with only 2,299 PCR tests administered so far, which aimed to test at least 35 percent of the city total population.
Without enough test kits, the doctor said there is no flattening of the curve for the city in sight.
As of Monday, May 4, there were only 10 Real Time-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) confirmatory tests administered.
The Department of Health has so far released 100 test kits to the city, as it grapples with problems in supply.
To augment this, the city is set to purchase 10,000 RT–PCR test kits which will amount to roughly P10 million to proceed with the desired mass testing city residents.
The city purchase will include the required reagents and other consumables required to be able to aggressively implement the planned mass testing of the health workers, frontliners and vulnerable sector of the population that possess the symptoms of the highly contagious virus.
Brillantes said at least 140,000 should be tested in the city to reach the minimum target population.
The city now faces a standstill on testing and results if not, kits are to arrive there will be a lull in reporting cases.
Brillantes added barangay health workers are now directed to go house to house to survey those who have cough, colds and mild symptoms to self-quarantine for 14 days and advise them take extra precautions until test kits arrive which will enable a testing for them.
“Our efforts are preparing for the worst, it is unfortunate that we cannot have results due to the lack of test kits,” Brillantes said.
As of May 4, there are 42 confirmed Covid–19 case in the region with 3,699 suspected cases and 15,646 possible cases.