The provincial government of Bohol recently installed a containerized molecular laboratory at the Bohol Medical Care Institute (BMCI) compound in Tagbilaran City that is expected to boost its testing capacity for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
The mobile laboratory that arrived from Manila will still be set for commissioning before it starts operations, Governor Arthur Yap said.
“There will be more functional molecular labs in the outskirts of Central Visayas region.”
With its arrival, Bohol is poised to have two reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) laboratories as the Governor Celestino Gallares Memorial Hospital (GCGMH) is also in the process of preparing its own molecular laboratory.
On July 14, Dr. Mary Jean Loreche, chief pathologist of the Department of Health (DOH)-Region 7, announced that the regional office is “helping in the capability building process for the personnel who will man the molecular lab at the GCGMH to boost the COVID-19 testing capacity of the province”.
Loreche also announced that “there will be more functional molecular labs in the outskirts of Central Visayas region”.
The provincial government plans to have two containerized labs and two more stand-alone units to cover areas in range of the eight gateways of Bohol.
The provincial government plans to have two containerized labs.
The provincial government is set to station containerized PCR labs in strategic spots of Bohol for fast testing on COVID-19.
Once the containerized lab becomes operational, the quarantine period for a suspected case may be shortened to just five days from 14 days.
“We also have to make sure that our equipment is properly interfaced with our contact tracing capacity,” Yap said.