Consolacion puts prevalence testing on hold

PREVALENCE TESTING. The planned prevalence testing in the Municipality of Consolacion, supposedly to determine how widely COVID-19 has spread in the town, has been shelved due to lack of willing participants.. | Contributed Photo

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The municipality of Consolacion has shelved its earlier plans to conduct a prevalence testing for COVID-19 among its residents following a low turnout of willing participants.

The town supposedly targets to test a representative sample of 4,000 individuals from 10 percent of its 40,000 households in order for the result of the testing to be relevant. The prevalence testing is a survey supposedly aimed to determine how widely the viral infection has spread in the locality

However, those who consented and signed up to be tested are only a little over 700.

“Kung atong padayonon, wala siya’y weight ug dili siya mo-reflect. Walay any meaning kung 700 lang mao nga ato lang una gi-put on hold,” Alegado said in a phone conference with reporters.

(If we push it through with this, there would be no weight to its results because it would not reflect the real situation if there would only be 700 participants that is why we are putting it on hold yet.)

READ: Consolacion town to start ‘targeted testing’ to determine prevalence of COVID-19

Alegado said the refusal of the residents in the town to submit themselves to the testing stemmed from the overwhelming fear of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

Alegado said that for now, they are just continuing with their regular COVID-19 testing based on their contact tracing and monitoring of patients who have influenza-like illness (ILI) symptoms.

The municipality, as of September 2, 2020, has 18 remaining active cases out of its 486 total confirmed cases. The town has been downgraded to the modified general community quarantine (MGCQ) status starting last September 1 after having been under GCQ since last May.

Although a component of Cebu province, Consolacion town alongside Talisay City and Minglanilla town did not shift to MGCQ with the rest of the province last July because the three LGUs had the highest number of COVID-19 cases in the province.

Targeted testing

Instead of the prevalence testing, Alegado said they were planning at a targeted testing mechanism in partnership with a non-government organization and the Department of Health.

The mayor said Ramon Aboitiz Foundation and the DOH had offered free COVID-19 testing to benefit certain sectors.

Alegado said that the first to avail of the offered free testing were the municipal employees and barangay workers in order to reduce the risk that asymptomatic workers would be dealing with the clients of the local government.

Alegado added that teachers who would be reporting to their respective schools this October would also be encouraged to avail of the free testing. /dbs