NEGROS ORIENTAL, June 26 (PIA) -- The municipality of Valencia has received 700 Universal Transport Mediums (UTMs) and 432 detection kits from the Energy Development Corporation (EDC) for the municipal government's ongoing massive contact tracing and swab testing. 

This donation is part of the continued help of Energy Development Corporation (EDC) to Valencia in its fight against COVID-19, said ECD Corporate Communications Officer France Ariola. 

“EDC’s recent donation to the town Birthing and Rural Health Unit is very timely considering the depleted supplies of Negros Oriental’s Integrated Provincial Health Office due to the increasing number of COVID-19 positive cases in the province,” said Ariola.

Valencia town is the seat of geothermal power plant of EDC.

Municipal Health Officer Dr. Cheryl Luz Eullaran thanked the ECD on behalf of the local government of Valencia.

Eullaran said the detection kits will go a long way for the residents of Valencia as the municipal government is relentless in its efforts to  curb the rising cases of COVID-19.

 “Because of your generosity, we are able to further our testing as part of the mitigation activities of the community. As our public health system capacity relies on detecting, testing, contact tracing and isolation, the need for the UTMs is essential. Thank you for your continuous generous support,” said Eullaran.

EDC has been providing COVID-19 assistance to the town as well as to the province where its 222.5-megawatt (MW) Southern Negros geothermal facility has been generating clean, renewable power for Negros Island.

Last year, EDC provided P11 million worth of state-of-the-art RT-PCR machines and peripherals to help the province put up its own molecular laboratory.

EDC has likewise donated P5.6 million worth of RT-PCR kits and P1.84 million worth of Rapid Antibody Test kits. (JCT/PIA Negros Oriental)