MANILA, Philippines — The private sector will soon launch a massive rapid testing for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), according to Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion.

In a statement, Concepcion said the matter was discussed during a consultative meeting recently “as both the private and public sectors held productive dialogue, sharing ideas, strategies and proposals on how to better manage the virus, while keeping the economy afloat.”

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According to him, business owners have agreed to initiate their own rapid testing in their respective companies and the barangays where they operate.

He said the objective was to determine the number of people who might have the coronavirus and those who have already built an immunity to it after overcoming the illness.

“The key is to check the level of spread of the virus, so that decision-makers and business owners can have clearer insight on how to develop their internal strategies,” said the Go Negosyo founder.

“By ensuring continued testing and the gathering of more data, the government and other agencies can develop a more strategic and comprehensive mitigation plan. Through this, we can also better help our front-liners—most especially doctors and nurses who are manning the hospitals—and micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs),” he added.

The polymerase chain reaction-based test is considered the “gold standard” in testing for COVID-19 cases since it is the virus itself that is being detected through swab samples. This, however, can only be done in laboratories and results typically come out within a day or two.

Concepcion said private sector companies would proceed with the random testing of barangay residents within the next few weeks to measure the level of risk within a community, especially Metro Manila.

He assured the public that all procedures and guidelines will follow the Department of Health protocols to ensure the preciseness of the test.

“We are now in the process of determining the number of companies who will want to join and support this program in order to screen their employees and help the barangays around them,” Concepcion said. INQ

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