COVID-19 test kits that were made by the Filipino scientist were on its development which leads to the relates of field validation results to locally-produced kits that will be made available in 2 to 3 weeks.

Deputy director of the University of the Philippines; Philippine Genome Center, Mr. Raul Destura explains in an interview on ANC’s Early Edition. He said, “If the results of the validation are deemed acceptable to valuators then we’re ready to roll. Two to three weeks from now.”

“I am not for the mass testing unless a formal economic modeling study is done that says it’s beneficial,” he added.

Destura said, “for now, he will go for targeted testing only due to the limited resources. Which means that there are clinical suspicions and testing follows.

The UP deputy director said. “You just have to wait for the symptoms, otherwise it might be an economical issue having this mass testing,”

Based on the report from ABS-CBN, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) funded project has received a certificate of exemption for field testing from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

This is because of the increasing cases of COVID-19 in the Philippines. According to FDA, if the Pinoy-made test kits will pass the satisfactory rating, it can apply for a certificate of product registration for wider distribution.

“Decision point for controlling transmission is on human behavior.” It is best for those who already have the symptoms to separate themselves from the group, Destura said.

Based on the report, Destura said that the government should launch an information campaign on how to restrict community transmission and would eventually flatten the pandemic’s curve, instead of having mass testing.

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