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Red Cross Eyes Nationwide Rollout of Saliva COVID-19 Test by Feb



The Philippine Red Cross is eying to make the new saliva-based COVID-19 test available nationwide by this coming February.

This has been revealed by PH Red Cross Chief Senator Richard Gordon, in an interview published on the official YouTube channel ANC, today (Tuesday), January 26, 2021.

During the interview, when asked if the saliva test is going to be rolled out nationwide, Gordon immediately answered, “definitely.”

“Our goal is to go nationwide by February one (1). Today, we are open with our machines in Metro Manila and in Mandaluyong. So, the two (2) major laboratories of the country where we have about almost twenty (20) machines in Manila,” Gordon told ANC.

“The rest of the country will have another twenty-eight (28) machines which are capable of one thousand (1,000) tests a day,” the PH Red Cross Chief added.

The COVID-19 Saliva Test

According to Gordon, the COVID-19 saliva test is fast, non-invasive, and can be done at home or factory or even at schools, with the results possible to be provided right away.

“This is really gonna be fast, it is non-invasive. You can do it in your home, provided merong nagbabantay na talagang tama ‘yong ginawa mo, and in the factory or in the schools and then we can pick it up and then give you the results right away by way of computer, by way of internet,” Gordon said.

Aside from a shorter processing time of 3-4 hours, the COVID-19 saliva test is also cheaper at two thousand pesos (PHP 2,000) compared to RT-PCR swab test. “This is just the start. ‘Pag dumagsa ‘yan, I can bring it down to P1,500 or even lower than P1,500,” he said.

Watch the Full Interview with PH Red Cross Chief Gordon

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Source: ANC 24/7| Official YouTube



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