The Philippine Red Cross in Bacolod City will begin saliva tests for COVID-19 starting Tuesday, February 2, PRC Governor Jay Jalandoni said today, January 28.
“PRC Bacolod can conduct 1,440 RT-PCR (reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction) tests a day using saliva samples,” he said.
They have two machines that can each conduct 90 tests every three hours, Jalandoni said.
Training of PRC personnel for the saliva tests will be held Monday, and actual testing will start the next day, he said.
A saliva test will cost P2,000, which is cheaper than the nasal test that cost P3,800, he said.
Meanwhile, PRC Bacolod will assist in the measles, rubella and polio vaccination from Feb. 1 to 28, Jalandoni said.
“We will deploy teams to selected barangays,” he said.
The project is supported by heath services of the PRC national headquarters, International Committee of the Red Cross, and American Red Cross, he added.*