As of May 17, 2020, the Department of Health Center for Health Development in Bicol (DOH-CHD) have not received any test results yet as samples are now being brought to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) in Manila for analysis.
It shoud be noted that the Exhaust Duct of the Biosafety Cabinet of the Bicol Regional Diagnostic and Reference Laboratory (BRDRL) has been damaged by Typhoon Ambo (international name, “Vongfong”) last Friday. The exhaust duct is needed for the extraction process of the Covid-19 samples. Without the exhaust duct, the RT-PCR machine will be unable to test the samples.
The RT-PCR machine, however, remains safe and will become operational again once the exhaust is fixed.
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