ILOILO City – Western Visayas and four other regions were requested to send 20 volunteer doctors and nurses to private hospitals in “danger zones” in Luzon as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases continue to surge.
In a memorandum dated Aug. 3., Department of Health (DOH)-Field Implementation and Coordination Team (Visayas and Mindanao) assistant secretary Roy Ferrer requested the regional directors of DOH Region 6, 7, 11, 13, and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao to solicit 20 doctors and nurses from their respective regions to assist Luzon and the National Capital Region.
“They are seeking for willing doctors and nurses with great passion for service and love for country to answer the call for help,” read part of Ferrer’s memorandum.
Dr. Marlyn Convocar, director of DOH-6, clarified that the NCR and Luzon augmentation is on voluntary basis.
The invitation to help, she said, is open to all doctors and nurses in public or private health facilities.
DOH-6, according to Convocar, will be posting announcement as to when the agency would start accepting volunteers.
To recall, DOH-6 previously ordered the deployment of Doctors to the Barrios to help private hospitals in Region 7. This was, however, met with intense criticism from both the health sector and local government officials.
Late last month, medical frontliners in a virtual press conference asked the government to bring Mega Manila back to enhanced community quarantine and allow at least a two-week breathing space for healthcare frontliners.
Philippine Medical Association president Dr. Jose Santiago said the country is waging a losing battle against COVID-19, highlighting the need to draw up a consolidated and definitive plan of action.
Upon the request of the medical community, President Rodrigo Duterte placed Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna and Rizal under modified enhanced community quarantine from general community quarantine from Aug. 4 to 18.
Duterte, meanwhile, extended once more the “medium risk” modified general community quarantine (MGCQ) in Western Visayas, which is comprised of Aklan, Antique, Capiz, Guimaras, Iloilo, and Negros Occidental provinces as well as the highly urbanized cities of Iloilo and Bacolod.
Under “medium risk” MGCQ, strict local action is to be implemented include zoning, localized community quarantine, strict enforcement or minimum health standards, and scale up of health systems.
Isolation facilities for returning Filipinos from overseas, locally stranded individuals and their close contacts, meanwhile, will be scaled up in these areas along with healthcare system.
Based on the Aug. 4 data of DOH-6, 104 out of the 139 local government units (LGUs) in Western Visayas have no active local COVID-19 cases.
Here’s the breakdown of the LGUs:
* Aklan – 17
* Antique – 18
* Capiz – 15
* Guimaras – four
* Iloilo province – 31
* Negros Occidental – 19
Both the cities of Bacolod and Iloilo have active COVID-19 cases, according to Dr. Renilyn Reyes, DOH-6 spokesperson.
Reyes reminded Western Visayans to observe minimum public health safety protocols – the wearing of facemask, observing physical distancing and handwashing.
She said COVID-19 can spread from person to person through small droplets from the nose or mouth which are spread when an infected person coughs or exhales.
These droplets also land on objects and surfaces around the person. Other people then catch COVID-19 by touching these objects or surfaces, then touching their eyes, nose or mouth.
The most common symptoms of COVID-19 are fever, tiredness, and dry cough.
Some patients may have aches and pains, nasal congestion, runny nose, sore throat or diarrhea. These symptoms are usually mild and begin gradually. Some people become infected but don’t develop any symptoms and don’t feel unwell./PN