Today, July 29, Manila City Mayor Isko Moreno Domagoso opened the third walk-in COVID-19 testing facility at the Justice Jose Abad Santos General Hospital—and yes, it’s also free.
Over the month of July, Manila City has been opening free COVID-19 testing centers. Last July 15, Domagoso opened the first free drive-thru testing centers at Andres Bonifacio Monument. Five days later, the second drive-thru opened at the Quirino Grandstand. Meanwhile, the first two walk-in centers also opened at Ospital ng Sampaloc and Gat Andres Bonifacio Memorial Medical Center.
“Ito (third walk-in center) ay bahagi ng tuloy-tuloy na accessible, efficient and free for all COVID-19 mass testing ng Maynila,” said Domagoso during the launch of the third walk-in center.
Last July 24, Metro Manila announced that out of the 4,000 tests from the drive-thru centers, 667 have already come out with positive results. He also added that once patients are tested, they will be immediately informed of their results.
[READ: Quick results: 667 out of 4k test positive at Manila’s free COVID testing drive-thru]The most recently opened walk-in center is in line with the city’s effort to augment the city’s free mass testing capacity. However, Domagoso previously mentioned that the city would need at least P2 million per day to keep the free testing operational.
During today’s opening, Domagoso mentioned that Manila City may be proving efficient in their efforts to keep the city safe. “Nakakatuwang isipin na we are in the right direction in such a way that DOH (Department of Health) said 89 percent of our active cases are mild cases,” he said.
The drive-thru centers are free and operate from Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Both Manila residents and nonresidents can avail of the testing.
Header photo courtesy of Mayor Isko Moreno Domagoso Facebook
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