The Manila City government will be prioritizing vendors in different public markets in the city once the second testing laboratory being built at the Sta. Ana Hospital starts to operate.

Mayor Francisco ‘Isko Moreno’ Domagoso said in an interview over DWWW 774 on Tuesday that he has already instructed the Manila Health Department to facilitate the swab tests.

He said this is to ensure the safety of the market vendors as well as the public who goes to the market every day for their daily needs.

“Whether we like it or not, the public needs to go to the market to buy their food, that is why we would like to assure both the vendors and the public that we are concerned about their health,” Domagoso said.

He said the city government has earlier provided market vendors with face masks and face shields to mitigate the spread of Covid-19.

After the public market vendors, Domagoso said next sidecar or pedicab drivers, tricycle and jeepney drivers will be tested next.

Domagoso said while the free drive-through Covid-19 serology testing is still ongoing at the Quirino Grandstand and Lawton, as well the walk-in and the mobile testing, the city government will still try to provide free and quality medical services to the vulnerable sectors.

As of Tuesday, the Manila City government has already conducted 25,547 swab tests in the city.

The total number of active cases in Manila as of this posting is 862, pushing the total figure to 10,488 confirmed cases, with 9,245 recoveries and 381 deaths. (PNA)