MANILA — The number of accredited COVID-19 laboratories in the country has reached 63, the Department of Health said on Monday.

“Ang Prime Care Alpha COVID-19 testing laboratory ang pinakabagong licensed laboratory,” Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said during a televised briefing.

(The Prime Care Alpha COVID-19 testing laboratory is the newest licensed laboratory.)

It is a real time RT-PCR (Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction) laboratory in Cebu City in Region 7, a hotspot for the COVID-19 outbreak in the Philippines. This brings the number of COVID-19 laboratories in the region to 4.

Of the 63 accredited COVID-19 laboratories across the country, 47 are RT-PCR laboratories, while 17 are GeneXpert labs. Both use the PCR technology to detect the COVID-19 virus in patient samples, but GeneXpert machine, which is semi-automated, conducts tests faster, reportedly for less than an hour.

The DOH considers PCR testing the gold standard for COVID-19 tests.

• READ: Explainer: What’s the difference between PCR-based and rapid test kits for COVID-19?

Below is the list of the 47 accredited RT-PCR laboratories for COVID-19 testing in the Philippines:

LUZON:

NCR
1. AFRIMS - Collaborative Molecular Laboratory
2. Asian Hospital & Medical Center
3. Chinese General Hospital
4. Detoxicare Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory
5. Hi-Precision (QC)
6. Lung Center of the Philippines
7. Makati Medical Center
8. Marikina Molecular Diagnostic Laboratory
9. National Kidney and Transplant Institute
10. Philippine Genome Center UP-Diliman
11. Philippine Red Cross (PRC)
12. Philippine Red Cross - Port Area
13. PNP Crime Laboratory
14. PRC - PRC Logistics and Multipurpose Center
15. Research Institute for Tropical Medicine
16. Safeguard DNA Diagnostics, Inc.
17. San Lazaro Hospital
18. Singapore Diagnostic, Inc.
19. St. Luke's Medical Center - BGC
20. St. Luke's Medical Center- QC
21. The Medical City - Ortigas
22. Tropical Disease Foundation
23. UP National Institutes of Health
24. UP-PGH-MRL

CAR
25. Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center

Region I
26. Ilocos Training Regional Medical Center
27. Mariano Marcos Memorial Hospital

Region III
28. Bataan General Hospital
29. Green City Medical Center
30. J.B. Lingad Memorial Hospital
31. Philippine Red Cross - Logistics and Training Center

Region IV-A
32. De La Salle University - Cavite
33. Lucena United Doctors Hospital and Medical Center
34. Ospital ng Imus

Region V
35. Bicol Regional Diagnostic and Reference Laboratory

VISAYAS

Region VI
36. Teresita Jalandoni Provincial Hospital
37. Western Visayas Medical Center

Region VII
38. Allegiant Regional Care Hospital
39. Cebu TB Reference Laboratory
40. Prime Care Alpha
41. Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center

Region VIII
42. Divine Word Hospital
43. Eastern Visayas Regional Medical Center

MINDANAO

Region IX
44. Zamboanga City Medical Center - DA Satellite Lab

Region X
45. Northern Mindanao TB Regional Center

Region XI
46. Davao One World Diagnostic Center Incorporated
47. Southern Philippines Medical Center

Meanwhile, below are the 17 accredited GeneXpert laboratories in the country:

NCR
1. Dr. Jose N. Rodriguez Memorial Hospital & Sanitarium (TALA)
2. Lung Center of the Philippines
3. Tondo Medical Center

Region I
4. Mariano Marcos Memorial Hospital
5. Region I Medical Center

Region II
6. Cagayan Valley CHD GeneXpert Laboratory

Region III
7. Bataan General Hospital
8. Bulacan Medical Center

Region IV-A
9. Batangas Medical Center

Region IV-B
10. Oriental Mindoro Provincial Hospital
11. Ospital ng Palawan

Region V
12. Bicol Medical Center

Region IX
13. Zamboanga City Medical Center

Region X
14. Northern Mindanao Medical Center

Region XI
15. Davao Regional Medical Center

Region XII
16. Cotabato Regional Medical Center
17. Dr. Arturo Pingoy Medical Center

• READ: Where can you get tested for COVID-19 in the Philippines?