PCG sending more men to NAIA to speed up release of COVID-19 results

October 22, 2020

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) deployed more personnel to address the  inconvenience caused by the return to manual encoding at the One-Stop Shops in the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

"Aside from the increased number of deployed frontline personnel and the activation of an IT (infotech) team that currently improvise an automated encoding system, the PCG has also assigned one focal person per partner laboratory that tests swab samples of returning overseas Filipinos (ROFs)," the PCG said in a statement on Wednesday.

"This is intended to ease coordination and ensure that results will be sent to the Bureau of Quarantine (BOQ) in one to two days after delivery. The BOQ will then inform ROFs regarding their swab test results through e-mail addresses provided upon registration at quarantinecertificate.com," it added.

Manual encoding is being used after the Philippine Red Cross last week stopped accepting COVID-19 samples due to the unpaid swab tests of PhilHealth amounting to more than P900 million.

The PCG said the Red Cross operates the barcode system which releases test result of OFWs in NAIA faster.

The PCG said overseas Filipino workers were able to return to their home within 12 hours but since manual encoding is being used for a week the release of test results takes a minimum of five days.

"This morning, 22 October 2020, the Task Group RT – PCR of the Task Force Bayanihan ROF visited nine of the 12 partner laboratories to deliver 2,394 manually encoded specimens collected at the One-Stop Shops yesterday, 21 October 2020," said PCG.

"After testing, (the) laboratories will send separate lists of ROFs who yielded positive and negative results to the BOQ to facilitate the issuance of quarantine clearances to ROFs who are negative for COVID-19, as well as the isolation of those who need medical assistance to recover from the contagious virus," it said. Robina Asido/DMS