UP Mindanao/ PGC Mindanao to help establish Davao de Oro COVID-19 testing facility
The University of the Philippines (UP) Mindanao will help set up another COVID-19 testing facility, this time in Davao de Oro province, through a memorandum of agreement with the Davao de Oro Provincial Government and the Department of Science and Technology Region XI that was signed on 22 June 2020 at the Provincial Capitol in Nabunturan, Davao de Oro.UP Mindanao Chancellor Larry Digal, Davao de Oro Governor Jayvee Tyron Uy, and DOST XI Assistant Regional Director Kenneth Barroga signed on behalf of their government institutions. Philippine Genome Center Mindanao Director Dr. Lyre Anni Murao and Davao de Oro Chief of Hospitals Dr. Ferdinand Anthony Soberano were witnesses to the agreement.
The facility, to be set up in the Provincial Hospital in Montevista town, will be used to test patients, frontline workers, and other individuals who need testing for COVID-19, upon being accredited by the Department of Health (DOH). The services can also be extended to nearby provinces, even outside Davao de Oro province. The facility can also serve as a surveillance and research center for other infectious diseases.
Chancellor Digal said, "Thank you, Governor Uy, and your team for giving UP Mindanao the opportunity to help you against COVID-19. It is a good opportunity to share the commitment of UP Mindanao and the expertise of Dr. Lyre Murao and her team of the Philippine Genome Center Mindanao, and to partner with the DOST, the funding agency of PGC."
ARD Barroga described the Davao de Oro leadership as “agile and innovative” in responding to the needs of its people and offered the DOST regional health council, which can fund projects “not just for COVID-19 but other infectious diseases, as well,” he said.
Governor Uy said it was timely that UP and DOST came in when President Duterte gave the Bayanihan funds for the province. “It’s one less worry, and hopefully, the COVID-19 facility will be up and running by August,” he said.
UP Mindanao, through the Philippine Genome Center (PGC) Mindanao, also lent its expertise for a COVID-19 testing facility in Tagum City on 19 May 2020 and provided training for the personnel. UP Mindanao also entered into a strategic partnership with the Southern Philippines Medical Center on 26 May 2020 to train personnel who will operate other COVID-19 testing facilities in Mindanao. The PGC Mindanao is the training arm of the UP-DOH collaboration for COVID-19.
Similarly, UP Mindanao will provide training in molecular diagnostics and biosafety for personnel who will operate the Davao de Oro facility. Also, UP Mindanao will help design the facility following DOH guidelines, develop a manual of operations, and give technical assistance in the DOH accreditation process. It will provide consultancy services for technical issues that may arise during regular operations of the facility, and formulate programs for the expanded use of the facility in infectious disease surveillance and research.
The DOST XI, for its part, will provide financial support for the training of personnel for the facility.
The Provincial Government will design and construct the facility, select and procure the laboratory supply and equipment to be used in the facility, apply and ensure DOH approval of the facility, and serve as the fund manager. It will spearhead the sample collection and storage, and take charge of the facility’s maintenance and operation.
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