MANDALUYONG CITY -- More than sixteen months after the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) opened its first molecular laboratory to test for Covid-19, the country's premier humanitarian organization once again furthers its capacity to test even more and is nearing the 4-million-mark milestone when it comes to testing.

"This is what I always tell the Red Cross staff and volunteers; 'Predict, Plan, Prepare, and Practice'. This is why we have to increase our testing capacity by establishing more molecular laboratories nationwide," said PRC Chairman and CEO Senator Richard Gordon.

Gordon emphasized the importance of testing. "We want to unmask the unseen enemy. The more molecular laboratories and saliva collection sites we establish; the more people we will be able test nationwide. Once we achieve this, we will be able to save more lives as we will be able to determine who is positive for COVID-19; we will be able to isolate them and treat them right away to prevent the virus from further spreading, we will be able to save more families, and more communities," he said.

As of August 17, 2021, the PRC has tested more than 3,819,021 individuals which makes up about a quarter of the tests done nationwide. It can test as many as 46,000 individuals daily which will further increase by 12,000 tests as PRC now has new RT-PCR machines which will expand the national COVID-19 testing capacity.

At present, the humanitarian organization is the top test facility in the country with 14 COVID-19 testing facilities strategically located around Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. With Gordon's leadership, the PRC will soon be opening more molecular laboratories specifically in Luzon and Mindanao. (Philippine Red Cross)