KORONADAL CITY, South Cotabato, Sept. 21 (PIA) -- The use of antigen tests to detect the presence of coronavirus will be a game changer, chief testing czar Secretary Vince Dizon said in a recent visit to General Santos City.

"It (antigen test) is a point-of-care test, meaning, it can be done anywhere by doctor or trained health personnel and does not have to be done in a laboratory.

"It is also worth noting that unlike in RT-PCR (real-time polymerase chain reaction) test which could take one to two days or even longer depending on availability of test kits before results are known, in antigen tests you get the result in only 15 minutes," Sec. Dizon told Philippine Information Agency.

Antigen tests use nasopharyngeal or oropharyngeal swab for collection of samples.

The Inter-agency Task Force has already allowed the use of of antigen tests in lieu of the gold-stantard RT-PCR test for local travelers.

However, the Department of Health (DOH) has yet to issue guidelines for official use of antigen tests and implementation in different sectors.

DOH spokesperson Ma. Rosario Vergiere, noted in an interview with national media also noted that the antigen test kits must first be registered by the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) and must have at least 80 percent sensitivity and 95 percent specificity to detect SARS-CoV-2.

She also pointed out that for the antigen test to be more reliable, RT-PCR test is still needed for confirmation.

The IATF hopes the guidelines for the use of antigen test "will be issued in the next couple of weeks.We hope that soon we'll be able to use antigen tests not only in border crossings and opening of tourism sector but also in communities," Dizon said.

He emphasized further that the use of antigen testa will be beneficial in situations involving the fish port of General Santos City, which was recently identified as a hot spot for coronavirus disease and attributed as a source of several local COVID-19 transmissions in different parts of SOCCSKSARGEN Region.

Also, he added, having antigen tests, will also help speed up COVID-19 tests.

At present, SOCCSKSARGEN Region has five testing laboratories, four of these, namely: Cotabato Regional and Medical Center in Cotabato City, Dr. Arturo P. Pingoy Medical Center in Koronadal City, South Cotabato and St. Elizabeth Hospital, Inc. in General Santos City, are using GeneXpert systems.

Dr. Jorge Royeca Memorial Hospital in General Santo Santos City received its license to operate (LTO) on September 17. It is the only COVID-19 testing lab in SOCCSKSARGEN that uses conventional RT-PCR test.

The problem with GeneXpert system test, he added, is the limited supply of cartridges.

"DOH only gets about 6,000 cartridges every two weeks. These are deployed to testing labs all over the country. Region 12 is included as a priority area," he said.

Dizon and other members of the CODE (Coordinated Operations to Defeat Epidemic) Team visited General Santos City Thursday to meet the the Regional IATF and assess the situation in the region.

The CODE Team, led by Sec. Lorenza Delfin Lorenzana and Sec. Carlito Galvez Jr. also handed over the LTO for Dr. Jorge Royeca Memorial Hospital as a COVID-19 testing laboratory and signed memorandum of agreement with the Department of Public Works and Highways and LGU Gensan for the construction of an isolation facility. (DED-PIA XII)