The Razon Group of Companies started rapid antibody testing of its employees for their protection and in preparation for eventual re-entry into the workforce.
International Container Terminal Services Inc. and Bloomberry Resorts Corp.’s Solaire Resort & Casino teamed up with the Tropical Disease Foundation and Ayala Healthcare Holdings Inc. to screen employees for coronavirus disease 2019, both for those who have been working from home and those who have been working in the frontline to help keep the economy moving.
“Our employees are our number one asset. As we try to overcome this most difficult phase and into the ‘new normal,’ we do so without letting our guard down,” said ICTSI and BRC chairman Enrique Razon Jr.
“Consistent with our aim of helping the country’s health infrastructure in tackling the extent of the pandemic, our decision to invest in mass testing will give us, our employees and their loved ones the reassurance that they will have a safe working environment which ICTSI and Solaire are well-known for,” he said.
Using a two-pronged strategy proposed by health experts, rapid testing will be done through point-of-care test kits, a diagnostic tool that measures antibodies from a blood sample in 10 to 15 minutes. An emerging science, rapid testing works on the premise that antibodies can potentially be markers of past and active infections.
It said in conjunction with required confirmatory testing, a second test using traditional kits, processed through a real-time polymerase chain reaction or RT-PCR machine, can detect the presence of the actual coronavirus within days and are deemed more accurate.
The group said to ensure that the samples are processed properly and the results interpreted correctly, trained health professionals from the TDF and AC Health are supervising the entire testing process.
It said that as part of efforts to ramp up local testing capability, the TDF is working with the Department of Health and Research Institute for Tropical Medicine to fast-track the validation and approval of its required laboratory certification to do coronavirus tests.
The TDF, AC Health and Bloomberry Cultural Foundation Inc. will sign a memorandum of agreement as soon as the TDF receives the required accreditation.
BCFI recently procured 100,000 test kits from China and South Korea approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
The foundation also donated P60 million worth of PPEs and N95 masks to the Health Department which were then distributed to hospitals and medical frontliners across the country.
ICTSI, Solaire Resort & Casino and other subsidiaries within the Razon Group continue to take care of and extend support to its employees, complying with stringent safety and precautionary protocol to protect them and their loved ones against the pandemic.
The group also continues to provide salaries and benefits for employees who are reporting onsite and those who work from home.