MANILA, August 8 -- Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Martin Andanar on Friday expressed support for the initiated COVID-19 Coordinated Operations to Defeat Epidemic (CODE) of the Department of Health (DOH).
Sec. Andanar joined the CODE meeting in Pasay City with DOH Secretary Francisco Duque, Contact Tracing Czar and Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong, and World Health Organization Representative Dr. Rabindra Abeyasinghe, where the city government presented the programs and initiatives they have undertaken even before the start of the enhanced community quarantine in March.
“Patuloy ang pagtulong natin sa National Task Force laban Sa COVID-19. Nagbibigay suporta tayo hindi lang sa presensya, kundi sa pamamagitan ng pagdadala ng mga polyeto at posters patungkol dito sa ating BIDA Solusyon at Laging Handa [We continue to work with the National Task Force Against COVID-19. We support not just with our presence, but also by bringing brochures and posters of our BIDA Solusyon and Laging Handa],” he said.
The PCOO chief also handed over copies of the BIDA Solusyon information collaterals to Pasay City Mayor Emi Calixto-Rubiano.
According to the DOH, the coordination meetings with LGUs are part of the National Task Force’s CODE initiative that demonstrates active case finding strategies for the prevention and elimination of clusters.
CODE will be headed by the DOH in partnership with the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) who will be conducting house-to-house visits in 10 barangays in Metro Manila to find symptomatic patients so they can be tested and isolated.
The said strategy was adopted from the Dharavi model of Mumbai, India.
During the meeting, Sec. Duque stressed that the fight against COVID-19 is a test of endurance for the government and all sectors.
“Limang buwan na po nating binubuno ang problema natin sa COVID-19. Ito na talaga ang itsura ng laban natin. Ito’y hindi na sprint, marathon na ito. Patatagan po ang laban dito kaya kinakailangan talagang maging matatag po tayong lahat [We have been trying to solve this problem with COVID-19 for five months now. This is really how it's going to be. This is not just a sprint—this is already a marathon. This is a test of strength so we need to be strong],” he said as he urged everyone to also be part of the solution.
“Sa laban po na ito ay hindi po pwedeng gobyerno lamang ang kikilos. Hindi naman pupwedeng pribadong sektor lang po ang kikilos. Ang atin pong policy that governs our response to COVID-19 is a whole-of-government, whole-of-system, and whole-of-society approach [In this fight, the government or the private sector cannot act on it alone. Our policy that governs our response to COVID-19 is a whole-of-government, whole-of-system, and whole-of-society approach],” he added.
Sec. Duque also stressed that behavior change by the public to routinely observe minimum health standards should be pushed further to bring down the rate of transmission in communities.
Mayor Magalong also discussed the CODE strategy for Pasay and challenged the local government to intensify its contact tracing efforts by building a database. (PCOO)
Source: Philippines Information Agency (pia.gov.ph)
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