By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

Negros Occidental provincial administrator, Atty. Rayfrando Diaz, revealed the provincial government is eyeing to boost the testing capacity of the molecular laboratory at Teresita Lopez Jalandoni Provincial Hospital in Silay City.

Diaz said the provincial government is hiring seven additional medical technologists for the molecular laboratory so that it can operate 24/7 and reach the target of 3,000 swab results per day.

The med techs will be assigned in three shifts for the 24-hour operation.

Diaz made the statement after a medical team from the Department of Health arrived in the province last week and made the assessment on the operation of the molecular laboratory.

“So far they are impressed by the lab operation with the existing machineries and we only need to hire seven more medtechs to reach the target,” Diaz said.

Meanwhile, Diaz also revealed that contact tracers in the province undergo seminars conducted by trainers in Cebu.

Cebu has been sharing its good practices in addressing the increase in the number of the coronavirus disease, or Covid-19, positive cases./DGB, WDJ