Where to Get a COVID-19 Swab Test for P2,000 or Less

At least 15 hospitals in the Philippines are offering the "gold standard" RT-PCR test to detect COVID-19. Prices for the test range from P1,750 to P2,000, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said on September 22.

With pooled or batch testing, the cost could be brought down to P500 per person, Roque added, with results to be released after 48 hours.

Hospitals in the Philippines that offer RT-PCR testing for P1,750 to P2,000 include:

1. Philippine Children's Medical Center
2. Dr. Jose N. Rodriguez Memorial Hospital
3. Jose B. Lingad Memorial General Hospital
4. Perpetual Help Medical Center - Las Piñas
5. National Kidney and Transplant Institute
6. Lung Center of the Philippines
7. Western Visayas Medical Center - Iloilo
8. Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical City - Cebu
9. University of Cebu Medical Center
10. Eastern Visayas Regional Medical Center - Tacloban, Leyte
11. Baguio General Hospital
12. Zamboanga City Medical Center
13. St. Paul's Hospital - Tacloban, Leyte
14. Teresita Jalandoni Provincial General Hospital - Negros Occidental
15. Cebu Molecular Laboratory

Aside from these places, there are also drive-thru COVID-19 testing centers in Metro Manila.

An RT-PCR test involves getting a nasopharyngeal swab and an oropharyngeal swab to get a mucus sample for testing. Both samples are placed in one viral transport medium and is brought to an accredited laboratory by the Department of Health, which will be conducting a real-time RT-PCR.

This story originally appeared on Reportr.world. Minor edits have been made by the editors.