MANILA, Philippines — How much would it cost the government to provide Filipinos free COVID-19 tests?
President Rodrigo Duterte ordered Health Secretary Francisco Duque III on Monday, during his weekly pre-recorded address, to find out the answer to that question.
“You know, what’s really important, and I realized now, it’s the testing, the swabbing, the test. It’s expensive,” Duterte toldl Duque, speaking partly in Filipino. “So maybe if you can give me a figure, see if there’s money, and we will just buy [testing kits]. And in all government hospitals or in health centers, we will give [tests] free of charge.”
Duterte also asked Duque to aim for the second quarter of 2021 fo…
Keep on reading: Duterte wants gov’t health facilities to give free COVID-19 tests