MANILA, Philippines — The government is tracking down around 15,000 potential carriers of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) as it tries to catch up with its backlog in testing individuals who might have contracted the respiratory illness. National Task Force COVID-19 Response Chief Implementor Carlito Galvez Jr. said Tuesday that this is based on the current data of the Department of Health (DOH) on fatalities and confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the country. ‘Yun ang parang nakita natin, ‘yung 15,000 na ‘yun ang tinatawag natin na backlog natin in real sense [We are still looking for 15,000 suspected cases. Galvez also revealed that the government is set to procure one million test kits to test more persons suspected to have contracted the disease. Rosario Vergeire also said that the DOH is set to procure a bulk of test kits that could last for three months.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer April 14, 2020 01:41 UTC