By Dolly Yasa
BACOLOD City – Mayor Evelio Leonardia said the Department Of Health Region-6 has allocated diagnostic test kits for the city.
In a statement issued Thursday, Leonardia thanked Department of Health (DOH) Regional Director Marlyn Convocar for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) diagnostic test kits allocated for Bacolod City.
“We are relieved that finally these test kits are arriving. RD Convocar said that the 50,000 allocated for Western Visayas will be sufficient for our immediate needs in the region,” Leonardia said.
The purchase of diagnostic test kits is a priority action of the City of Bacolod in its fight against COVID-19, the mayor added.
The city government was ready to procure 3,000 diagnostic test kits worth P5 million, but Convocar advised Leonardia to wait until the new biolaboratory at Western Visayas Medical Center in Mandurriao, Iloilo City is able to run tests.
On March 24, DOH- 6 informed the Bacolod City Health Office (CHO) that their new biolaboratory is now ready to operate, and that the regional office has enough test kits for 50,000 specimens in Western Visayas.
“This also means that the kits allocated for Bacolod will be for free. We will continue to monitor the needs and we are ready to purchase what may be needed by the situation,” the mayor stressed.
The P5-million budget for the test kits is reserved until further advice from DOH, he added.
