Antique’s molecular lab gets license to operate
ANTIQUE’S own bio-molecular laboratory has been accredited for operations and will soon start testing samples for coronavirus, which will cut the waiting time for results, the provincial government announced.
In a statement on Wednesday, the local government said the Department of Health issued on June 7 the license to operate for the facility located at the Angel Salazar Memorial General Hospital.
Chief of Hospital Jose Lyndion Perez said with the laboratory for RT-PCR coronavirus tests, specimens no longer have to be sent to various facilities in Iloilo City.
Antique Governor Rhodora J. Cadiao, in a post on her Facebook page, acknowledged Rep. Loren B. Legarda for helping expedite the accreditation process.
Antique has the second lowest number of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in Western Visayas, which is currently experiencing a surge in patients.
As of June 8, Health department data show Antique had 414 COVID-19 patients out of the 1,665 recorded since the start of the pandemic. It had 1,192 recoveries and 58 deaths.
The Western Visayas Region had 9,173 active cases with the highest in Iloilo City at 2,201. The other patients are in: Bacolod City, 1,531; Negros Occidental, 1,877; Iloilo province, 1,763; Capiz, 700; and Aklan, 549. The lowest number of active cases were in the island province of Guimaras at 128.
The region has 18 laboratories.
