Rapid testing for PUIs on in Baguio

BAGUIO CITY -- The city government April 4 started to conduct rapid tests of health workers and Persons under Investigations (PUIs) confined at home with mild Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) symptoms.

This came ahead of the Dept. of Health’s announcement allowing mass testing in the national level.

Mayor Benjamin Magalong on April 2 gave the go signal for the rapid tests after consulting with government health practitioners here to further hasten the identification of those who are infected and facilitate treatment, isolation and contact tracing.

Results are not confirmatory for the tests which utilize test kits donated to the city government by some entities.

                PUIs with mild symptoms who would test positive will be subjected to PCR confirmatory tests while those with negative results will be made to continue their 14-day quarantine. 

                City Health Officer Dr. Rowena Galpo said all 23 PUIs tested April 4 yielded negative results while 36 others who were checked April 6 are still awaiting results.

The mayor said the city has around 400 donated kits enough to cover all PUIs in home quarantine.  

As of April 6, the city has 390 PUIs under home isolation. – Aileen P. Refuerzo