The city government here is set to introduce the easy-to-use coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) home testing to allow residents to check on their condition whenever they need to.

City information office chief Aileen Refuerzo, in a phone interview on Sunday, said Mayor Benjamin Magalong Jr. is batting for the use of antigen self-test kits to further speed up detection and management of Covid-19 cases in a safe way as residents won’t have to go to health facilities.

“Our city could be the pilot site for this do-it-yourself testing kits that are widely used in the US, Canada, Europe, and Singapore,” Refuerzo said, adding the launch will be held within the week.

So far, the city has done 316,231 tests.

On Saturday, the city opened 2022 with 18 new Covid-19 infections that raised the active case tally to 64.

The city has also started vaccination registration for children aged 5 to 11.

“Approve na sa national ang vaccination ng mga maliliit na bata kaya sinimulan na natin maglista para pag nag-rollout, ready na tayo (The national government has approved the vaccination for the children’s age group that is why we are already registering so we’ll be ready when rollout starts),” she said.

As of the last vaccination day in 2021 on December 30, the city has attained a 63.55 percent full vaccination rate of the 12 to 17 age group, or 27,207 out of the 42,811 target.

The adult population is already 91.10 percent fully vaccinated, equivalent to 255,997 out of the 281,000 eligible target.

Vaccination will resume on Tuesday. (PNA)