IATF orders monitoring of utilization of rapid antigen kits

MANILA – The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) has directed the monitoring of the use of rapid antigen kits to ensure accuracy in the reporting of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) infections in the country.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque, in a press statement on Friday, said the IATF-EID has given the task to its regional IATFs and task forces.

“The IATF directed its regional IATFs and task forces to monitor the allocation and utilization of rapid antigen tests to further improve the reporting of Covid-19 cases,” Roque, who concurrently serves as IATF-EID spokesperson, said.

Roque said the Department of Health’s Center for Health Development (DOH-CHD) in Metro Manila has been instructed to facilitate the registration of facilities using rapid antigen kits.

The DOH-CHD in the country’s metropolis has also been told to ensure that antigen line list will be collected and consolidated from health facilities, temporary treatment and monitoring facilities, and their own local government units for submission to the agency.

Roque said the augmentation of disease surveillance staff and encoders have been considered to ensure that line lists are generated and submitted on a daily basis.

During the Laging Handa briefing, Roque said the new policy on the utilization of rapid antigen kits would allow the government to get a “better picture” of total Covid-19 cases recorded nationwide.

Roque, nevertheless, said individuals who received a positive result after taking antigen test will still have to undergo a confirmatory test.

“Pero siyempre, ‘yung mga positibo, subject pa rin po iyan for confirmatory test (Of course, those who tested positive will still be subject for confirmatory test),” he said.

On Tuesday, the DOH said reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing remains to be the gold standard for confirming the presence of Covid-19.

The DOH also maintained its stance against the use of rapid antigen tests as a confirmatory test for Covid-19, saying this should not be used in settings with low prevalence of the disease of the population with no known exposure.