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Bloomberg
The Philippines, with a population of more than 100 million, had only 2,000 novel coronavirus test kits available earlier this week as the number of infections jumped.
Its government once had 4,500 kits in stock, but the number dwindled to 2,000 as the number of people who wanted to be diagnosed surged, Health Assistant Secretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said. Confirmed cases in the Southeast Asian nation had increased to 24.
The limited number of testing kits is constraining the country’s ability to test more people for the virus, Health Secretary Francisco Duque said this week, making people showing any symptoms a priority. The shortage of diagnostic kits in Philippines underscores resource constraints and rising costs that countries face as virus spreads globally.