Philippines targets 10 million coronavirus tests by 2021

The Philippines is planning on testing nearly a tenth of the 109 million population by 2021, its health minister said on Monday. The Health Secretary said in a televised meeting with President Rodrigo Duterte that they intend to increase the daily testing capacity from 20,000-23,000 to 32,000-40,000 to meet the target.

The country has so far tested nearly 1.1 million people. Duterte also threatened citizens of arrests for violating restrictions that aim to contain the spread of the virus. Last week, the government officials said health workers and police would visit homes of patients with mild or no symptoms and lead them to isolation centers, raising concerns on possible human rights violations by the authorities.