Several celebrities are asking why the government is still not implementing mass testing of the COVID-19 cases despite the proven effectiveness of the said measure in other countries.
Luiz Manzano in a tweet asked why the DOH is not doing mass testing yet. He also asked if its due to the lack of budget or testing kits.
“Serious question, why aren’t we doing mass testing yet? Is it a lack of budget? Availability of test kits?”
Serious question, why aren’t we doing mass testing yet? Is it a lack of budget? Availability of test kits?
— Luis Manzano (@luckymanzano) March 21, 2020
KC Concepcion also had the same question.
“Thinking the exact same thing, have we gotten the answer to this?”
Thinking the exact same thing, have we gotten the answer to this? https://t.co/zvxhCcknHz
— KC ~ also, Kristina. (@kristina) March 21, 2020
Agot Isidro, on the other hand, tweeted numerous #MassTestingNowPH tags
#MassTestingNowPH #MassTestingNowPH#MassTestingNowPH #MassTestingNowPH#MassTestingNowPH #MassTestingNowPH #MassTestingNowPH #MassTestingNowPH#MassTestingNowPH #MassTestingNowPH #MassTestingNowPH #MassTestingNowPH #MassTestingNowPH#MassTestingNowPH #MassTestingNowPH
— Agot Isidro (@agot_isidro) March 21, 2020
DOH has been called out many times to start mass testing now since the number of COVID-19 were apparently under-reported.
However, DOH remained adamant saying it’s not yet time for the government to do mass testing.
“Sa ngayon po, hindi pa naman nakikitang kailangan nating gawin itong mass testing na ito pero nasa taalaan, nasa mapa, nasa radar, na kung sakaling dumating ‘yung panahon, and if we have enough resources and the government can do it, and it is already imperative for the government to do it, gagawin po natin ‘yan kung saka-sakali,” said DOH Usec Vergeire.
USec. Vergeire also argued that mass testing although conducted in different countries didn’t show a proven effectiveness to curb the rise in the number of infections.
“Ang mass testing although ginawa sa ibang bansa ay hindi pa nakakapagkita ng proven effectiveness.”
Vergeire: "Ang mass testing although ginawa sa ibang bansa ay hindi pa nakakapagkita ng proven effectiveness." She says they will continue to prioritize severe cases and those most at risk. @ABSCBNNews
— Kristine Sabillo (@kristinesabillo) March 20, 2020
Infectious disease expert and IATF consultant Dr. Edsel Salvana meanwhile said the country lacked the needed facilities and expertise for now thus it cannot conduct mass testing yet.
All these people saying "We have #COVID19 kits!" We can test! Guys, if you don't have a BSL2+ facility, viral transport media, DNA/RNA extraction kits, the right kind of qPCR machine, enzymes and proper training, your kits are about as useful as a banana. https://t.co/xSbiUbr4ye
— Dr. Edsel Salvana (@EdselSalvana) March 21, 2020
More facilities coming on line but its not as simple as an LGU buying test kits then they're good to go. People act like its a simple thing. It's not.
— Dr. Edsel Salvana (@EdselSalvana) March 21, 2020
According to an article by Sciencemag, South Korea’s success in containing lies on their mass testing programs which accounted to 270 thousand people or about 5200 test per million inhabitants.
“Behind its success so far has been the most expansive and well-organized testing program in the world, combined with extensive efforts to isolate infected people and trace and quarantine their contacts. South Korea has tested more than 270,000 people, which amounts to more than 5200 tests per million inhabitants—more than any other country except tiny Bahrain,”
Raina MacIntyre, an emerging infectious disease scholar at the University of New South Wales in Sydney Australia also said South Korea’s large scale testing was the key to the epidemic control
“South Korea’s experience shows that “diagnostic capacity at scale is key to epidemic control,” she said.
