The Quezon City government has conducted COVID-19 testing on four individuals who sought the city’s free swab services after going to Angel Locsin’s community pantry which was considered as a mass gathering event.
According to the City Epidemiology and Disease Surveillance Unit (CESU) Chief Dr. Rolando Cruz, three of the individuals who booked swab appointments with the city were asymptomatic or showing no symptoms while the other one was experiencing headache, loss of smell, and loss of taste.
“Today is the fifth day since Ms. Locsin’s event. The average incubation period for COVID-19 is approximately five days. So we call on everyone who went to last Friday’s gathering, please report to us and have yourself tested. If there was a transmission and you were exposed, you may observe some symptoms manifesting starting today,” said Cruz.
Affected residents may book an appointment via online at http://bit.ly/QCfreetest or through the CESU Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/QCEpidemiologyDiseaseSurveillance/.
They may also call any of the following QC Contact Tracing Hotlines: 8703-2759, 8703-4398, 0916-122-8628, 0908-639-8086 and 0931-095-7737.
Since Friday, Cruz said, the CESU has been receiving an average of 950 swab test requests daily while around 600 per day were approved or conducted.
“The city screens individuals who can avail of the free swab services so we can allocate our supplies to those who need it most,” said Cruz.
Residents who are currently prioritized for the swab testing are those who went to Locsin’s community pantry, close contacts or those who were exposed to COVID-positive patients, those who are experiencing symptoms, pregnant, dialysis patients, and those who will undergo medical operations and need COVID-19 test results.
Cruz reminded that booking can be made Mondays to Fridays, and that swab testing is strictly by appointment and no walk-ins are allowed.
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