Manila News

Manila mayor pushes virus tests for workers

Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso encouraged companies to test their workers for coronavirus before they return to work in the city.

In a virtual meeting with almost 60 business leaders Wednesday, Domagoso said testing their returning workers may lessen the spread of the disease as parts of the country shift into the modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ).

The local chief executive assured that the city government is ready to extend help to private organizations in combatting COVID-19.

“Don’t send them home, send them to us,” he said. “We are putting them in our quarantine facilities but as we progress we can extend assistance to [other] sectors.”

Earlier, the Department of Health (DOH) earned flak for saying that employees are not required to undergo COVID-19 tests amid mounting concerns over a possible surge in cases with the more relaxed community quarantine guidelines.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said they only recommend testing for those who display symptoms of the disease and/or had contact with suspect and confirmed COVID-19 patients.

The Manila City government has begun constructing its own COVID-19 testing laboratory at Sta. Ana Hospital, where the Manila Infectious Disease Control Center (MIDCC) is also located.

The city government has also finished building two of the 11 quarantine facilities that they are planning to set up for the COVID-19 patients in Manila.

As of Wednesday afternoon, health workers from the city government have performed a total of 6,806 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests and 36,065 rapid tests for the city’s probable and suspect COVID-19 patients.

Data from the city government showed that there are now 1,118 confirmed COVID-19 patients in the city with 172 recoveries and 91 deaths.