On March 25, police officers wearing masks on duty at a checkpoint in Manila, the capital of the Philippines / Photo by Yonhap News
[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Park Hee-eun] Following Spain, issues have also arisen with Chinese-made novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) diagnostic kits in the Philippines.
On the 29th, according to local media including the daily Inquirer, the Philippine Department of Health reported that some of the 100,000 COVID-19 diagnostic kits donated by China were not used.
In response, Vice Minister Vergeire did not specify exactly how many of the donated 100,000 diagnostic kits produced inaccurate results.
Regarding this controversy, the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines stated in a press release on the 29th that "the two types of diagnostic kits donated by the Chinese government meet WHO standards."
Earlier, on the 27th, according to a report by Hong Kong's South China Morning Post (SCMP), the Spanish Society of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology announced that the accuracy of COVID-19 diagnostic kits imported from Shenzhen Bioeasy Biotechnology Co., Ltd. in China was less than 30%.
Based on this research, the government of Madrid, the capital of Spain, suspended the use of diagnostic kits from this company. Additionally, the Spanish government requested the company to replace the products.
The Chinese Embassy in Spain stated via Twitter that "these diagnostic kits are products not approved by Chinese health authorities and were not included in the medical supplies sent by the Chinese government to Spain."
Meanwhile, Philippine Senator Manny Pacquiao conducted tests using Korean rapid diagnostic kits. Local media announced that based on these results, Pacquiao tested negative for COVID-19.
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