Humanitarian organization Philippine Red Cross lowered on Thursday the prices of its saliva and RT-PCR tests by at least 25% to increase testing capacity in the country.

Red Cross Chairman and Senator Richard Gordon said swab test price was down from P3,800 to P2,800 while saliva test price decreased from P2,000 to P1,500.

"We will lower the price of RT-PCR tests to help our countrymen. With the lowered price, we will test more and help more people," Gordon said in a press statement, in Filipino.

These new prices will be implemented on September 4, Gordon also said.

Currently, Red Cross, which has 13 molecular laboratories all over the country, has conducted more than 4 million COVID-19 tests since it began in April 2020.

The Department of Health (DOH) also had set a new price cap for public and private facilities to increase testing capacity in the country.

As of Sept. 2, DOH recorded a 26.9% positivity rate with 60,973 tests conducted.

OCTA Research Group advised the government to conduct an average of 140,000 COVID-19 tests for fear that 30% of cases in the country may be undetected. It said the country has a current average of 70,000 tests per day.

Admitting that tests in the country are not enough, testing czar Vince Dizon said the government still has to spend for other COVID-19 efforts such as contact tracing, isolation and vaccination.--LDF, GMA News