Bohol gears up for COVID testing, reopening economy

The first PCR machine for Bohol province’s COVID-19 testing arrived on May 23. | Screenshot from Gov. Art Yap

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Bohol province is now gearing to operationalize its first coronavirus disease testing center at the Gov. Celestino Gallares Hospital with the arrival of its first polymerase chain reaction (PCR) machine.

Bohol Governor Art Yap, in a video update which was posted past 9 p.m. on Sunday, May 24, 2020, said the first PCR machine was brought by National Task Force (NTF) COVID-19 Chief Implementor  Sec. Carlito Galvez and his deputy, Sec. Vince Dizon, on Saturday, May 23.

PCR testing remains the Department of Health-recognized gold standard in diagnosing COVID-19.

Yap said setting up the province’s own testing center is important in order to facilitate the return of more locally stranded individuals (LSIs) and the repatriated Boholano overseas workers.

Since lockdowns in the different parts of the country began last March 2020, the Bohol provincial government has already brought home over 300 repatriated OFWs and LSIs.

The release of repatriated OFWs was earlier stalled even after they completed the required quarantine period because of delays in the release of the results of their COVID-19 tests which were examined in the subnational laboratory of Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center in Cebu City.

Read: Yap: No results yet in Bohol COVID-19 tests

The availability of the testing center, Yap added, will also strengthen the healthcare capacity of the province which is needed as Bohol also prepares to reopen its economy. The province is currently under general community quarantine (GCQ).

“Kinahanglan mobalik na ta sa atong mga trabaho apan buhaton nato ni pinaagi sa striktong mga polisiya nga makaprotekta nato,” Yap said.

(We have to already go back to our respective works but this will be done together with the strict implementation of existing policies to ensure our protection.)

Yap said Bohol’s direction against COVD-19 will continue to focus on “aggressive” prevention by enforcing strict physical distancing, wearing of protective equipment and maintaining hygienic measures; strengthening healthcare capacity by setting up more than one testing center; facilitating the return of more OFWs and locally stranded individuals; and implementing minimum health standards for work, home, and transportation.

“The way will be long. The way will be hard. We need our discipline and we need our unity. We have to show that we have a working system in Bohol to live with this virus because to live with this virus is to defeat this virus,” the governor said.

These measures, Yap said, would be a way to live in the new normal as he reiterated that the old norms can no longer be restored. / dcb