With the sudden rise of COVID-19 cases lately, finding a home service RT-PCR test can be very challenging—not to mention the insane price surge as well. RT-PCR home service tests now range between PHP 3,000 up to PHP 5,000, which is honestly a big toll to most people, especially if there is more than one suspected case in a household.
The partnership between the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) and motorcycle delivery service provider Angkas has been around for a while now. Their collaboration aims to offer a more affordable RT-PCR saliva testing right in the comforts of our homes with PRC-trained Angkas riders.
If you’re wondering, RT-PCR saliva testing has a 98.23% accuracy rate, and it is a less invasive alternative to the nasal swab RT-PCR test. So if you want to try it as soon as possible, then keep on reading as we walk you through it.
Book an appointment
To start, head over to angkas.com/pcr 10 (note that booking an appointment via the Angkas app is still not available). From there, you will immediately see their pricing. The Red Cross Saliva Test costs PHP 1,500; then you can choose which Angkas booking you prefer: same day booking for an additional PHP 700 or advance booking for an additional PHP 400. Besides that, there will be an additional service fee of PHP30 and a processing charge that will depend on the mode of payment you’ll choose. In my case, I used GCash, which costs an extra PHP 69.
Due to the increase in the volume of test requests, the appointment schedules available are limited. When I first tried booking, the earliest I could get with the advance booking was three days ahead and none for the same-day booking. However, I tried again the following day at around 6 a.m. and luckily got a same-day appointment. This, of course, will vary on the current demand and manpower availability.
Moving forward, once you’ve chosen your preferred booking, review your cart and click on continue. From there, you can add the patient details and preferred schedule. Do take note that there will be extra charges if you don’t show up or if you reschedule.
When that’s done, a confirmed schedule and QR code will be sent to your email. Hold on to these as they are needed by the Angkas biker.
30 minutes before your appointment, make sure not to do any mouth activity such as eating, drinking, brushing, smoking, etc.
The test can take up to 30 minutes, so find a comfortable area where it can be conducted. Don’t forget to wear your face mask and bring your own alcohol.
Once your rider arrives, you will be provided with a tube and funnel to collect your saliva. Make sure that you collect at least 1mL of the sample with no discoloration. Otherwise, the sample may be deemed invalid.
After collecting your saliva sample, the Angkas biker will give you a barcode that indicates your RT-PCR tracking code. You will also receive a tracking email so you can check the status of your test. The results will be emailed to you within 24 to 48 hours upon receiving samples in the laboratory; however, due to the current large demand, it might take longer to process. The good news is that you can get detailed updates of your test whenever you track via Dashlabs.
And there you have it! We hope you found this detailed information helpful.
