MANILA, Oct 28 (NNN-PNA) – The Philippine Red Cross (PRC), said, it will resume COVID-19 tests “in full” starting today, after the insurance company, PhilHealth, settled half of its debt to the organisation.
“We will test right away. Tonight, I have requested the (PRC) secretary-general and all our laboratories in the entire country, to open it to PhilHealth again,” Senator Richard Gordon told reporters.
Gordon also serves as chair of the PRC.
“We are going to (conduct) testing tonight, from the Manila International Airport, and tomorrow, regular testing will be conducted in full. So we are ready to test all the people that we have not tested,” Gordon added.
Gordon announced the resumption, hours after PhilHealth made a partial payment of 500 million pesos (10.3 million U.S. dollars) to PRC.
The PRC has been conducting COVID-19 tests to help the government screen returning overseas Filipino workers.
But it has temporarily suspended testing after PhilHealth was not able to immediately settle its debt to the organisation, which reached over one billion pesos (20.6 million U.S. dollars).
PRC conducts 30 percent of total COVID-19 tests performed nationwide.
Data from the Department of Health showed, PRC accounted for over one million of the 4.3 million tests conducted in the Philippines, as of Oct 18.
The Philippines now has 373,144 confirmed COVID-19 cases, including 328,602 recoveries and 7,053 deaths.– NNN-PNA
