By J. Jala | 11:19 AM May 05, 2020
At least 48 repatriated overseas Filipino workers now in quarantine in Bohol are set to undergo polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based tests on Tuesday, May 5, top capitol official said.
In a video message, Bohol Governor Arthur Yap said that swab samples of 48 seafarers will be collected on Tuesday, May 5.
They returned to the province on April 28 under the OWWA repatriation program, as directed by the National Inter-Agency Task Force.
The swab samples will be submitted to Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center in Cebu, the only certified subnational testing center in the region that also caters to neighboring Visayas and Mindanao areas.
Due to volume of samples tested in VSMMC, results may be released in at least two to three days.
PCR-based test kits are considered by the Department of Health as the “gold standard” in testing since these can detect SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
PCR testing is done via nasopharyngeal swab sample analysis.
The rapid test kits, on the other hand, measure antibodies and not the viral load itself, via blood samples.
The COVID case tracker of the Department of Health (DOH) on Saturday listed two patients in Bohol province.
This stirred the already-anxious island province of at least 1.3 million population.
Governor Yap said Bohol is still Covid- free and the test results remain ‘inconclusive’.
He said that in a conversation with Department of Health (DOH) Central Visayas Director Jaime Bernadas he was informed that “Bohol can still be considered Covid-free since tests conducted on 10 returning OFWs registered negative
Immunoglobulin (Ig) M and Immunoglobulin (Ig) G scores from a Rapid Antibody Test, even while one tested a positive IgG score.”
“Atong iampo nga walay magpositibo sa COVID-19,” Yap’s statement continued.
The governor added that this is no time for finger-pointing or blaming.
“Isip amahan,gusto ko makauli sa bay ang akong mga anak mo-ando man ug dili ang IATF national,” he said.
“Mas uwaw kung talikdan ang atong kaigsuonang Bol-anon. Bol-anon ta dili tungod kay mingtuo ta sa ija-ija o ahu-aho tungod kay kita manggiluy-on , manggihatagon, adunay baruganan ug lawm nga pagtuo sa Labawng Makakagahum. It’s my great honor to bear this burden of leadership for Bohol.
Please share this burden with me. Let us do it for Bohol,” Yap emphasized.
The 48 OFWs were already quarantined upon their arrival in Manila. They also underwent rapid tests upon arrival in Cebu.
However, some OFWs who have returned to Cebu City, Iloilo, Bacolod and Misamis Occidental later tested positive for COVID-19 and have continued to be on isolation and close monitoring.
