THE Department of Health (DOH) yesterday warned laboratories and other similar establishments against offering home services, where coronavirus disease (COVID-19) tests are done remotely, without the necessary authorization.
In a virtual press briefing, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said laboratories not licensed by the DOH are prohibited from doing home service COVID-19 testing.
“We have been getting reports of laboratories that are not licensed by the DOH and are offering such home services. We are strictly monitoring these activities,” said Vergeire.
“We will be slapping sanctions to these laboratories once we find out that they are not licensed laboratories but are offering these remote collections of specimens for COVID-19,” she added.
The health official said that while such services are allowed, these can only be offered by laboratories licensed by the government.
In addition, Vergeire said licensed laboratories are also required to notify the DOH if they will offer such services.
“These activities are allowed to be offered by licensed laboratories of the DOH under Department Memorandum (DM) No. 2020-0324,” she said.
“And among these licensed laboratories, labs, if they intend to have these remote collection services, they must notify the DOH if they have this kind of service so that we can monitor,” Vergeire also said.
Under DM 2020-0324, only DOH-licensed COVID-19 testing laboratories that are performing PCR in the detection of SARS-CoV-2, whether RT-PCR or cartridge-based PCR, shall be allowed to conduct remote collection of specimen.
Failure to notify the DOH of the proposed remote collection activity shall merit appropriate sanctions.
