Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire cited the reduced capacity of the RITM, the country’s national reference laboratory, as a major factor. It seems like we won’t achieve our goal of conducting 8,000 tests by April 30,” Vergeire said in a televised briefing. Figures from the Health department indicated that the RITM accounts for around half of the country’s testing capacity. “The test cartridges for the GeneXpert have also arrived,” she added. The country has around 300 of the testing machines nationwide, and the test cartridges are undergoing validation before being used for testing.

Source: Manila Times April 29, 2020 16:38 UTC