The new laboratories are expected to boost Valenzuela's localized targeted mass testing as the City explores new capacities in conducting its own sustainable COVID-19 response.

Mayor REX Gatchalian, District 1 Cong. WES Gatchalian, Sen. WIN Gatchalian and the City Council lead the blessing ceremonies of the newly-built Valenzuela Hope Molecular Laboratory and Valenzuela Serology Laboratory at the Valenzuela City Emergency Hospital (VCEH) this August 18, 2020.

Both laboratories are also expected to complement the operations of the 24/7 Valenzuela City Mega Contact Tracing Center which now operates in full swing.

With the infrastructure now in place, the City Government of Valenzuela is now undergoing assessment to acquire a COVID-19 testing laboratory License to Operate. Training of personnel of the said labs is currently on schedule.

Valenzuela Hope Molecular Laboratory is already on Stage 4 of the accreditation process of the Department of Health (DOH).

“Sabay [ito] sa expanded contact tracing unit natin [This will work simultaneously with our expanded contact tracing unit]... This will give us control over our testing efforts. This weekend until next weekend -- equipment delivery na and training of our med techs,” Mayor REX shared during the Inter-Agency Task Force for Managing Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) visit to Valenzuela last July 29, 2020.

The Valenzuela Hope Molecular Laboratory will have the capacity to run 270 specimens a day. It also has a PCR machine (Biorad CFX 96 Real-time PCR Detection – Thermal Cycle) and is expected to be fully integrated with the Abbott Architect machines of the Serology Laboratory through a Laboratory Information System (LIS). With this, the extraction process will also be fully automated.

One (1) additional PCR machine will also be procured, doubling the capacity of processing 540 specimens a day.

As biosafety is now an integral part of Valenzuela City’s infrastructure and policy planning, the Valenzuela Hope Molecular Laboratory will be complete with a medical technology lounge, clean write shop and supply room, doffing and donning area, RT-PCR room, temperature adding room, re-agent room, specimen handling and sample preparation room and specimen receiving area.

The City Council has also passed Ordinance No. 766, Series of 2020 establishing the Valenzuela City Hope Molecular Laboratory or "Valenzuela Hope," further strengthening the management of the facility on its staffing pattern, goals, funding, services and the like.

The ordinance also states that all sample specimens from patients as recommended by the City Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit (CESU) for COVID-19 RT-PCR testing shall be exempted from the laboratory testing fee.  

The laboratories will aid Valenzuela City just right in time as the local government continuously faces the arduous process of the localized targeted mass testing with the numbers of confirmed COVID-19 cases now increasing in the City. With this, Mayor REX expresses his high hopes that the new laboratories coming into the picture will “provide excess capacity again” and that the City will be “more proactive once we get the Val Hope running.”

For COVID-19 related concerns and emergencies, contact our CESU 24/7 hotline at 137-160.

Valenzuela Hope Molecular Laboratory passed the proficiency test for SARS-CoV-2 Detection using Real-Time PCR of the Department of Health - Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (DOH-RITM) last September 12, 2020. ValHope had a final score of 100%. 
The laboratory officially operated last September 14. 84 specimens were referred to the lab which yielded 13 positive COVID-19 cases and 71 negative cases. 

- Last updated Oct. 06, 2020, 09:15am