If you’ve been keeping tabs on international news throughout the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, you’ll know health officials are always stressing two things. To fight the coronavirus, governments need to: a) implement social-distancing measures; and, b) get people tested.
Here in the Philippines, the government is already working on getting that first bit in order. As for testing its citizens and weeding out the virus, thousands of test kits have already been donated by fellow nations, and many more are scheduled to arrive from China this weekend.
Once the Philippines has the kits, it’s a matter using them—kind of tricky whichever way you look at it, considering the sheer amount of individuals who’ll need to get tested. To address this issue, other nations have gotten creative.
Some countries, including the United States, South Korea, and Australia, have set up drive-through COVID-19 testing centers to make the process convenient for their citizens. In South Korea, for example, getting tested at a drive-through center is absolutely free and there’s no need to ever exit your vehicle. Look:
Drive-through testing centers are convenient, but unfortunately, it isn’t always smooth-sailing. According to a report by Fox 5 Las Vegas, a local drive-through testing center had to halt operations in just three days after being overwhelmed due to a lack of staff.
“There are plenty of test kits, but not enough staff members to administer them,” the report says, adding many motorists lined up—some camping overnight—but had to be turned away.
Regardless, it’s a neat idea. What’s a better way to encourage people to get tested than by making the process as hassle-free as possible?
Can similar facilities be put up here in the Philippines? Perhaps, but we have to keep in mind that the majority of the population does not have access to private vehicles, as the current situation with the Luzon-wide enhanced quarantine period and the public transportation ban shows.
Do you like this idea? Or is there a better way to make testing more convenient for everybody?
