OPAV warns against fake COVID test kits

CEBU, Philippines —  Fake or unapproved COVID-19 test kits are allgedly being sold or circulated, prompting the Office of the Presidentia Assistant for the Visayas to call the public not to take advantage of the health crisis.

“I am appealing to the public to never purchase test kits that are tagged as for COVID-19. The government will take care of purchasing the kits since as of today, only the government has COVID-19 testing capacity," said OPAV Secretary Michael Lloyd Dino in a statement.

Dino said OPAV has been receiving queries and clarification on specific individuals selling unapproved COVID-19 test kits through social media.

“Wondfo” SARS-CoV Antibody Test is not an approved COVID-19 test kit under the Food and Drug Administration approved list as of March  20, 2020, he said.

These testing kits are not point-of-care kits but are intended for laboratory use only, based on the announcement made by Department of Health.

OPAV said that DOH announced that five sub-nationals laboratories are now operating alongside the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine. Among these laboratories is the one situated in Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center in Cebu City.

Currently, an additional laboratory are being set up in Western Visayas Medical Center in Iloilo City and another one in Eastern Visayas is expected to be up and running soon

Meanwhile, OPAV said that with support from President Rodrigo Duterte and Senator Bong Go and with cooperation from DOH-7, VSMMC and local government units have come up with an “effective system” to combat COVID-19, aside from the community quarantine and other existing measures.

OPAV labeled it the Influenza-Like Illness and Severe Acute Respiratory Illness protocol.

The office, citing Dr. Junjie Zuasula, OIC-RD of RESU-7, said that this is a scientific approach where community surveillance system is put in place at the barangay level.

Barangay health workers, under the protocol, will help identify persons with ILI and SAR.

The information gathered from the surveillance will be loaded to a database in order to determine significant clustering of cases.

This will help in identifying the persons to be tested for COVID-19, which will subsequently serve as guidance in deciding if a city, municipality, barangay or a part thereof should be placed in a total lockdown. JMD (FREEMAN)