Antique will soon have its molecular laboratory to test specimens from suspected coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases.

On Tuesday, Governor Rhodora J. Cadiao spent her birthday by leading the groundbreaking ceremony for the proposed Angel Salazar Memorial General Hospital (ASMGH) Molecular Laboratory, the provincial hospital here.

“The molecular laboratory had been allocated with PHP21 million by the provincial government in order that there will be a testing laboratory in Antique,” Antique’s Covid-19 czar, Dr. Leoncio Abiera, Jr., of the Integrated Provincial Health Office (IPHO), said in an interview.

He said they expect the molecular laboratory to start operations the first week of March.

“The Municipal Health Offices (MHOs) will be the one to swab the Covid-19 patient and then send the specimen to the molecular laboratory for confirmation,” he said.

Seven personnel composed of a pathologist and medical technologists will be assigned to man the laboratory.

“The Covid-19 patients could get their results outright depending on the volume of specimens to be tested,” he said.

Abiera said that patients, who are members of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PHIC), will be covered by the insurance.

“For those who are not members of the PHIC, however, they will have to shell out PHP4,500 for the test,” he said.

In a separate interview, Cadiao said the molecular laboratory is necessary because specimens from Antique are still being sent to the Western Visayas Medical Center (WVMC) or other private hospitals in Iloilo City for confirmation of infection.

“Usually it takes two to three days for the patient to receive his test result,” she said.

She added that the molecular laboratory could be used not only to test Covid-19 but also other diseases like dengue. (PNA)