BACOLOD CITY, Sept. 3 (PIA) –- Environment Secretary and National Inter-Agency Task Force Member Roy Cimatu, who came back to Bacolod City to meet with barangay captains, members of the Bacolod COVID-19 technical working group, and medical directors of hospitals in the city, said that the fight versus the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a game of the barangay captains.
Cimatu, who also led the Special Mission team in Cebu City at the height of its local transmission cases, came with Regional IATF-Visayas deputy chief implementer Gen. Melquiades Feliciano and chief pathologist of Department of Health Central Visayas Dr. Mary Jean Leroche to, share best practices and recommendations to curb local transmission of COVID-19 cases in Bacolod City.
“This is the game of the barangay captains. You were elected by your people to lead them especially during this crisis,” Cimatu told the barangay captains present.
According to Cimatu, locating the virus first is the primary step towards effectively containing the spread of the COVID-19 disease so that all efforts will be exerted and those barangays with high numbers of COVID-19 cases should be prioritized.
“This is where the role of village officials – especially barangay captains – comes in,” Cimatu added.
Meanwhile, Dr. Leroche underscored the collaborative efforts between and among public and private hospitals where she suggested that Level 1 hospitals will be utilized as “step down facilities” for mild cases while Level 2 and 3 hospitals to accommodate moderate and critical cases.
Leroche enumerated the best practices in Cebu where the DOH also deployed its nurses to attend to COVID-19 allocated beds in both public and private hospitals; COVID-19 tracker point persons were assigned in hospitals for daily submission of data (bed capacity, patient-to-healthcare worker ratio, and number of patients) for monitoring and reporting; improve the testing capacity in communities and the involvement of the private sector in the information drive; distribution of personal protective equipment; and strict implementation of border control and minimum health standards.
Meanwhile, Feliciano recommended a centralized command center where all clusters of the technical working group can meet daily to strengthen their collaboration.
Feliciano also emphasized the role of barangay captains as focal persons in the fight versus COVID-19.
Latest data from the City Health Office showed that the 10 barangays with the highest number of cases are: Estefania with 100; Taculing with 77; Villamonte with 65; Banago with 62; Mansilingan and Mandalagan both with 61 cases; Alijis with 55 cases; Tangub with 46 cases; Bata with 39 cases; and Garanda with 38.
The meeting was part of the Office of the President’s response to Mayor Evelio Leonardia’s appeal for augmentation in view of the increasing number of cases in Bacolod. *(LTP/EAD-PIA6 Negros Occidental)
Source: Philippines Information Agency (pia.gov.ph)
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