The Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) has announced on Tuesday that 38 of its 45 staff who tested positive for COVID-19 last week have fully recovered. RITM added that the staff who recovered as of Monday are already back in the front line.
Man in a face mask (Photo credit: unsplash)
On the other hand, the remaining seven patients are still recovering but are already stable and are only exhibiting mild symptoms.
RITM has tested 1,280 personnel between April 18 to 24. All but 280 results are still pending. Staff who were tested that remain asymptomatic are currently under strict monitoring.
Due to the outbreak in the laboratory, RITM announced that it will reduce its testing capacity while addressing the issue. The facility was properly disinfected to guarantee the safety of the workers.
“There are many who rely on our expertise as a National Reference Laboratory and tertiary hospital specializing in emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases, but we will only be able to fully commit to our mandate if our employees are duly valued and protected,” RITM Director Celia Carlos said in a release sent out on Tuesday.
Even with the current internal crisis, RITM performed last week an average of 927 COVID-19 tests every day.
RITM still holds the highest number of total tests conducted (over 45,000) and unique individuals tested (over 39,000) among local health facilities with COVID-19 lab diagnostic capacity.
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