ILOILO City – Like other areas in Western Visayas that are under modified general community quarantine since June 1, this city has also met the minimum health system capacity standards for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) preparedness and response prescribed by the Department of Health (DOH), according to Mayor Jerry Treñas.
“We have enacted regulations which complement the efforts of the national government in containing the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019,” Treñas pointed out.
These minimum health system capacity standards or parameters covered health and human resources; infrastructure and equipment; supplies and commodities; and organizational and processes.
Treñas detailed what the city government had done. Among these were the following:
* established city epidemiology and surveillance office
* increased human resources for health by hiring 136 nurses, nine doctors and 39 medical technologists to man quarantine facilities and health centers
* organized and trained 63 contact tracers, forming nine contact tracings teams for the seven district of Iloilo City
* trained 25 medical technologists on proper collection packaging and transportation of samples for COVID-19 testing
* trained healthcare workers to manage suspect, probable and confirmed cases in nine health centers, 87 barangay health stations and two quarantine facilities
* the city government, along with QualiMed Hospital, Metro Iloilo Hospital and Medical Center, The Medical City, and West Visayas State University Medical Center, initiated to build their own COVID-19 testing centers
* nine private hospitals with 1,287 bed capacity and three government hospitals with 725 bed capacity allotted 165 beds for COVID patients
* three quarantine facilities – St. Therese-MTCC Hospital (83 bed capacity), Diamond Jubilee Hall (85 bed capacity) and PHINMA-UI (50 bed capacity)
* one COVID sub-national testing laboratory (Western Visayas Medical Center)
* 10 dedicated referral hospitals
* 30-day buffer supply of personal protective equipment for health workers and testing swabs
“We are also considering measures to ease the economic struggles faced by the city,” according to Treñas.
A modified GCQ is the transition phase between GCQ and the “new normal” when restrictions are made more relaxed and become less necessary such as limiting the movement of people and conduct of business, among others.
“Stringent health containment measures affected almost 65 percent of businesses resulting in either suspension or closure of operations,” said Treñas.
Based on gathered data, said Treñas, Iloilo City already incurred a shortfall of P121,349,088.67 in revenues in the first quarter of the year.
Iloilo City transitioned from enhanced community quarantine to GCQ on May 16./PN