MANILA, Philippines — A health expert has expressed concern over the inadequate number of testing centers in the country as COVID-19 cases continue to increase. In a recent forum, Dr. Leni Jara of the Council for Health and Development lamented that “COVID testing is not accessible for everybody” amind lacking testing centers nationwide. ADVERTISEMENTAccording to the group’s executive director, “COVID testing is not accessible for everybody because most of them are in urban centers – 116 in Metro Manila, 18 in Cebu, and 10 other provinces that have it.”“There are 31 provinces that don’t have testing centers,” she added. She then called out the reported P500 million worth of testing kits that expired and were not used – while the demand for free mass testing has never been granted. READ: P550 million lost in expired COVID-19 test kits from Pharmally“It’s revolting for me,” Jara said.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer September 28, 2021 12:56 UTC