MANILA — An official overseeing the Philippine COVID-19 testing program apologized on Monday for the slow turnout of test results, as the country reported record infections.

Presidential Adviser for COVID-19 Response Vince Dizon said the release of results is "anywhere between 48 hours hanggang mga 3 araw (up to 3 days)."

“Talagang matagal po ang turnaround time po natin sa pagti-test. Unang rason po d’yan, sa dami talaga ng ating mga kababayan na nagpapa-test dahil marami pong nagpopositibo at marami pong nagiging close contact,” he said in a televised public briefing.

(The turnaround time for our testing is long. The first reason for that is many of compatriots are getting tested because many are testing positive and many become close contacts.)

He noted that RT-PCR screening is not automated and needs to be facilitated by technicians.

“Humihingi po tayo ng pasensya sa ating mga kababayan,” said Dizon, the country’s testing “czar.”

“Marami po sa ating mga technician, med tech, mga laboratory technician ay nagpopositibo rin po at sila ay kailangan kinakailangan mag-isolate at hindi sila nakakapagreport sa trabaho. Iyon po talaga ang pinakamabigat na hamon natin ngayon,” he continued.

(We apologize to our compatriots. Many of our technicians, medical and laboratory technicians, are testing positive, too, and they need to isolate and cannot report for work. That’s our biggest challenge right now.)

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Video courtesy of PTV

In response, the COVID-19 task force shortened to 5 days the quarantine period for coronavirus-positive health workers who are fully vaccinated and asymptomatic, Dizon said.

Medical professionals who are close contacts no longer need to isolate if they have no COVID-19 symptoms, he said.

Dizon noted the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also shortened the isolation period as cases spiked.

“Malaking bagay po ‘yan sa ating mga laboratoryo para maiikot po natin ang ating mga technician, mga med tech na nagkakasakit at iyong mga hindi pa, awa ng Diyos, tinatamaan ng COVID-19,” said the official.

(That is a big help so that our laboratories can shuffle our technicians, med techs who got sick and those who, with God’s mercy, are not yet hit with COVID-19.)

He said government is trying to tap more health personnel and samples from Metro Manila are sent to laboratories in other areas with lower testing demand.

“Kailangan flexible tayo at kailangan talagang maging mas responsive tayo sa nangyayari ngayon,” he said.

(We need to be flexible and more responsive with what is happening.)

The Philippines reported a record number of 28,707 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, the health department said.

Another 15 people died from COVID-19, the agency said,, bringing the total death toll to 52,150. The country has reported a total of more than 2.96 million cases since the pandemic started.

— With a report from Reuters