Taguig opens second drive-thru testing site 

After launching its groundbreaking COVID-19 drive-thru testing initiative at the Lakeshore Hall last week, Taguig City opened on Wednesday a second site for drive-thru testing in its business district in Bonifacio Global City.

The testing facility is set up at the Northeast Parking Area in front of Kidzania, beside CitiBank and IBM One World Place. During the first day of testing in BGC, 10 suspect COVID-19 cases were tested. Each test took only about 5 minutes to finish.

The approach, which is part of the city's Systematic Mass Approach to Responsible Testing (SMART) program, targets residents who are vehicle owners and who are unable get tested through the other testing sites of Taguig City like hospitals and health centers.

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Under Taguig City's SMART initiative, residents who need to be tested have the following options for testing:

- Barangay-based testing - Hatid-sundo program for persons who need to be tested in their communities and barangay health centers. As of April 28, ALL 28 barangays with 31 Health Centers as testing facilities have conducted barangay-based testing for COVID-19.

A total 238 persons tested for the first round of testing in barangays. Second round of testing begins today.

- CEDSU TESTING TEAM - The team visits cases of COVID-19 in their homes for testing.

- PRIVATE AND PUBLIC HOSPITALS - Patients may get tested in accredited testing facilities and laboratories in the city.

- DRIVE-THRU TESTING

Under this COVID-19 drive-thru testing approach, citizens will have to follow these steps:

1. Call COVID-19 hotline at 878-93200 or 0966-419-4510 where you will be assessed by the City Epidemiology and Disease Surveillance Unit (CEDSU).

(Taguig City is finalizing self-assessment forms that can be filled up online.)

2. Resident will receive a control number to be presented to testing center.

3. Visit drive-thru testing facility (Lakeshore or BGC).

4. Present digital copy of control number to Receiving Booth.

5. Proceed to testing area to get tested.

6. Receive Anti-COVID Kit with monitoring sheet.

7. CEDSU will contact resident for results 3-5 days after testing.

In the event that patients exhibit COVID-19 symptoms like fever, the individual would be instructed to go to the isolation area. An ambulance will be posted near it for cases of hospitalization.

Taguig launched drive-thru testing with barangay-based testing on April 22. The latter capacitates medical workers at Taguig’s 31 health centers and 3 “Super Health Centers” in conducting COVID-19 tests at the barangay-level.

“The new skill would enable our health centers and workers to respond to COVID-19 even beyond the enhanced community quarantine and for the long term, especially if the disease is later on declared as a notifiable disease,” said Mayor Lino.

“ SMART is a framework which ensures that everyone who needs to be tested will be tested,” said Mayor Lino. “We are making testing accessible to the most number of Taguigeños we possibly can. Testing is a very important part of a successful COVID-19 response. It saves lives.”

Taguig also partnered with the Department of Health, Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, St. Luke’s Medical Center in BGC and the Philippine Red Cross to ensure the samples can more speedily be tested for COVID-19.