Covid-19 up with only 2,000 DOH testing kits

HAPPY WEEKEND

Gina Dizon

SAGADA, Mountain Province – Dept. of Health regional health officer Clint Ildefonso when asked how to go about testing every person in town to prevent the local transmission of the corona virus disease (Covid-19) said, “We only have 2,000 testing kits.”

I followed up my question in a separate interview from the planning meeting of Covid-19 response team of this municipality where Ildefonso is a member of and asked what he meant by 2,000 testing kits.

Ildefonso said the 2,000 testing kits refer to the supply of the country given by the World Health Organization (WHO) to test any person under investigation or a person under monitoring for Covid-19.

That’s ridiculously a measly number of testing kits to test 104.7 million Filipinos of the dreaded Covid-19 virus.

I thought earlier Ildefonso meant 2,000 testing kits for Sagada so I told him that would not be enough for the 13,333 population of this town for them to be all tested if they have or not the virus considering the virus is contaminating people via local transmission.

This means one could be afflicted or the virus transferred from anyone in the Philippines, in one’s own small village and not necessarily a person coming outside from the country.

peoplesdefender.com

Anyone could be infected by a handshake or droplets of saliva splashed to someone either by coughing or sneezing. 

The earliest showed one confirmed Covid-19 case followed by six then by 20 on to 24 on to 35 and now 46 as of March 11. And the numbers are increasing.

In response, President Rodrigo Duterte  approved a P2 billion supplemental budget "in principle" for the DOH in response to the increasing number of Covid-19 confirmed cases.

Alarming and the country has only 2,000 testing kits.  

Reports say the over P2 billion special budget for DOH would be for the procurement of protective gear for health workers and an additional P10 million would be for supplies of face masks in the country.

And testing kits?  

This tourist town is visited by tourists and out of town residents living in other places of the world who can come home anytime, including merchants coming in to sell their wares.

With others like overseas contract workers who come home for good or get a vacation, the spread of Covid-19 is not discounted.

Ildefonso however assured this writer-resident that anyone who may be exhibiting signs of fever, coughing, sneezing and shortness of breath in this town or Mt. Province may be referred to Luis Hora Memorial Regional Hospital in Bauko for quarantine where a tongue/saliva swab would be conducted and the specimen brought to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM).

This could reassure people that those who are exhibiting flu-like symptoms could be shall be dealt with as soon as possible in their respective areas.

The Covid 19 team meeting went on with the suggestion that barangay health workers shall help in monitoring residents in their respective barangays.

Conducting information education campaigns are necessary as Ambasing barangay chairman Rovaldine Dagacan said during the Covid 19 team meeting. People need correct information regarding the virus.  

The suggestion of establishing hubs in entrances to the town was forwarded.

Sagada has four road entrances. One at Dantay-Sagada road, another at Balili- Suyo road. Another at Madepdepas-Taccong road and the other at Besao-Sagada road with vehicles coming from Nakawang-Tadian road.

Volunteers were called out to help 24/7 in checking the temperature of passengers before entering the town.

Executive Order 14-20 was recently issued by Sagada Mayor James Pooten Jr. temporarily suspending all crowd drawing and tourist related activities in this tourist town due to the threat of Covid-19 until further notice.

The Philippines has reached Code Red with an alarming number of 46 confirmed cases as of March 11 and the numbers are increasing even as the World Health Organization declared Covid-19 as pandemic.

WHO defines a pandemic as global spread of a new disease most often applied to new influenza strains. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said “pandemic”  is the term used when viruses “are able to infect people easily and spread from person to person in an efficient and sustained way” in multiple regions. The declaration refers to the spread of a disease, rather than the severity of the illness it causes.

President Rodrigo Duterte issued Proclamation No 922 declaring the Philippines under a state of public health emergency to capacitate  government agencies  and local government units  to immediately act to prevent  loss of life, utilize  appropriate resources  to implement urgent and critical measures to contain or prevent the  spread of  Covid-19,  mitigate the effects of  and impact to the community and present serious disruption of the functioning of the government and the community.

These are alarming pronouncements with over 118,000 cases of the corona virus illness in over 110 countries with the risk of further global spread.

I talked to a tourist guide who remarked “There is nothing to worry, just follow DOH protocols.”

These include washing one’s hands frequently and properly, observing sneezing and coughing etiquette by covering one’s mouth and nose, avoiding touching one’s nose and eyes, eating properly and staying healthy.

This, while there are only 2000 testing kits for millions of people in the country as the numbers soar of people infected with Covid-19.  

Here nowadays, roads are deserted, guest houses are dark at night, a few people are walking and the place looks calm.