UP COVID-19 test kits approved for use

The Research Institute for Tropical Medicine has validated local test kits for the novel coronavirus, which were now ready for use at selected laboratories, the Department of Health (DoH) said on Friday.

The test kits developed by scientists from the University of the Philippines were recalled after a defect was found.

DoH was coordinating with the university so the kits could be used locally, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario S. Vergeire told an online news briefing.

“We will issue a final advisory to our laboratories advising them that the UP test kits may now be used,” she said in Filipino. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas