Capitol prepares for COVID-19 mass testing
PROVINCIAL Health Officer Anna Ma. Teresa De Guzman said the provincial government is set to launch mass testing for COVID-19 in the province.
The medical technologists in the 44 towns and three cities and in the 14 government-owned hospitals are scheduled for orientation and training on the process to be employed for oropharyngeal swabbing this week.
De Guzman said the training will commence soon as the resources are made available by the Department of Health.
The mass testing will prioritize mild persons under investigation (PUIs) and persons under monitoring (PUMs) who had a direct contact with the PUIs.
All PUIs who are classified as severe and critical were already tested.
Mild PUIs will not include elderly, pregnant women and with co-morbidities, De Guzman clarified.
“Gov. Amado Espino III decided to follow the recommendation of the DOH which is the use of Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)”, De Guzman said.
De Guzman said PCR will be used in the mass testing and not the immunoassay or rapid testing based on the presence of antibodies.
PCR that requires oropharyngeal swabbing is deemed more specific and sensitive compared to the rapid testing that requires blood extraction.
In addition, rapid testing might not detect the antibodies during the first stage of infection while PCR can identify the virus even during the initial onset of the symptoms.
The provincial health officer underscored the importance of early detection.
Meanwhile, the recovery rate of Pangasinan has been steadily increasing since last week with 13 recoveries, while the total number of deaths remain at 9 for the past 9 days. (PIO/PJS)
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