NegOr gives free antigen test kits amid perceived rise in COVID cases

Posted by watchmen
June 20, 2024
Posted in News

 

Provincial health workers advise residents to wear face masks as a precaution against the spread of flu-like illnesses, during a meeting in Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental in this undated photo. Provincial Health Office chief Dr. Liland Estacion says the provincial government is giving out free rapid antigen test kits amid the rise of perceived COVID-19 cases in the province. (PNA / File photo)
Provincial health workers advise residents to wear face masks as a precaution against the spread of flu-like illnesses, during a meeting in Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental in this undated photo. Provincial Health Office chief Dr. Liland Estacion says the provincial government is giving out free rapid antigen test kits amid the rise of perceived COVID-19 cases in the province. (PNA / File photo)

The Provincial Health Office (PHO) of Negros Oriental is providing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) rapid antigen test (RAT) kits for free amid a perceived rise in cases in recent weeks, an official said on Tuesday, June 18.

PHO chief Dr. Liland Estacion said reports from various hospitals and health centers in the province point to suspected COVID-19 cases based on patients’ symptoms.

However, she said these could no longer be quantified in the absence of regular monitoring and reporting.

“Covid cases are no longer ‘reportable,’ which means that it has now been downgraded to an ‘ordinary’ flu-like illness with treatable symptoms, and many people, unfortunately, no longer report to health authorities if they have contracted the disease,” Estacion said.

She added that they are no longer required by the Department of Health to report COVID-19 cases.

For those needing confirmatory tests, Estacion said RAT kits are given for free until supplies last, while waiting for the PHO’s Reverse Transcription – Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) equipment to be fixed.

The RT-PCR machine is not just used to test for COVID-19 but for other diseases as well, such as HIV-AIDS, she said.

With the onset of the rainy season, she said, upper respiratory illnesses are bound to spread faster.

Estacion advised people with symptoms to isolate themselves and wear face masks when necessary. (PNA)

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