Lawyer Julius Caesar Entise. CDN Digital photo | Mary Rose Sagarino
MANDAUE CITY, Philippines—The Mandaue City Emergency Operations Center and the Department of Health (DOH) have agreed to hasten the release of swab test results needed by the city during their meeting on Monday, July 26, 2021.
Lawyer Julius Caesar Entise, head of the city’s Contact Tracing Team, said that after their meeting with DOH, the health agency agreed to provide the swab test results faster than usual.
Entise said based on DOH’s explanation, if the city can submit the specimen in the morning, the result will be released in the evening.
Currently, the city could receive the swab test results after one to two days.
Entise said it would be very helpful if they would receive the results earlier for more effective contact tracing, and so that the city could contain the infection faster, especially with the rise of COVID-19 cases and with the threat of Delta variant.
He said an earlier result would be easier and faster for them to identify, locate, and pull-out positive patients. It will also be faster for them to determine if there is a need to trace and test more contacts to prevent infection of others.
In Mandaue, Entise said they practice to quarantine first generation contacts even before undergoing swab tests. Individuals who underwent RT-PCR swab test for travel and employment cannot be cordoned or quarantined but are advised to avoid contact with people while waiting for the results.
/bmjo