TUGUEGARAO CITY, Cagayan, May 20 (PIA) - - After the series of rigid evaluation stages, the proposed Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) testing laboratory of the Department of Health - Center for Health Development (DOH-CHD) Cagayan Valley has already given a license to operate.

Dr. Leticia T. Cabrera, OIC director III, said they will soon start operating the clinical testing laboratory, which is the Tuberculosis Reference Center, located at the regional office of the said agency.

She said they are now finalizing the protocols to be followed for the full operation of the laboratory to ensure its efficiency and the safety of the people who will manage the center.

"We are also waiting for the officials who will do the calibration and maintenance check to the testing machine before we can start with its operation. The technical experts in doing these will come from Manila so we have to wait for their schedule considering also some restrictions in accepting visitors from other areas," Cabrera said.

She also said they are yet to finalize their guidelines as to the provinces or areas that they will be catering into insofar as sources of specimen samples to be tested are concerned.

"We will still determine how are going to go about it as we can see that Nueva Vizcaya is nearer to Baguio General Hospital. Maybe we can cater to other provinces of the region as well as the neighboring provinces of Cordillera," she added.

As of this time, there is already one ready testing machine at the said laboratory which could process 36 specimen samples in eight hours and DOH is also expecting additional two machines soon.

Dr. Romulo Turingan, chief - Local Health Support Division, said there are eight health personnel trained to manage the laboratory, composed of medical technologists and nurses.

The health officials expressed their gratitude for granting accreditation to the clinical laboratory, in which, will surely facilitate fast release of confirmatory results of the specimen samples.

They are also optimistic that the proposed laboratories of Cagayan Valley Medical Center and Southern Isabela Medical Center will also be granted license to operate soon. (MDCT/OTB/PIA 2-Cagayan)