Senator Panfilo M. Lacson deplored Monday “inadequacies” in the response of the Department of Health (DOH) to the threats posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, even as he noted that the national task force headed by its chief implementer, Secretary Carlito Galvez, Jr., has stepped up to improve service delivery.
Lacson expressed the hope that the massive rapid testing starting today through the private sector’s initiative in coordination with the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases , signals that the COVID-19 containment and mitigation efforts are firmly on track.
“After a long and unnecessary delay, the FDA approved the use of test kits – including at least 10 rapid antibody test kits and 23 PCR-based test kits as of April 8,’’ he said. ‘’What I can’t understand for the life of me is why the DOH keeps issuing circulars that seem to circumvent Sec 4 of the Bayanihan Act that provides for some leeway for donated test kits that otherwise have already been in use in other jurisdictions, by mandating the turnover of all donations to DOH would not allow its use,’’ he said.
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