WITH just 10 days away from Christmas, the Department of Health on Wednesday asked hospitals and treatment facilities to set up more beds and mechanical ventilators, as the Philippines braces for a possible surge in COVID-19 cases during and after the holidays.
During President Rodrigo Duterte’s public briefing aired Wednesday night, Health Secretary Francisco Duque cited the need to prepare for the worse — “Hihingin natin ang commitment ng mga ospital, lalo na ang pribadong ospital, na maglaan po ng sapat na bilang ng kama at mechanical ventilators para po mapaghandaan natin ang sapat ng posibleng surge in the COVID caseload.”
Aside from hospital beds, he also urged local government units to provide more isolation beds at their temporary treatment and monitoring facilities (TTMFs) to quarantine suspect COVID-19 patients and their close contacts.
He also assured that COVID-19 testing laboratories will continue to operate during the holidays, adding that the government has been able to test around 6.2 million Filipinos.
Believing his effort is not as late as it seemed, Duque also reminded Filipinos to do the following during the holidays:
· Avoid crowded and enclosed areas
· Skip activities such as singing, caroling, salu-salo, buffet, and use of trumpets
· Always wear face masks and face shields
Duque also denied banning the use of the traditional “torotot” — “We discourage — hindi ko pa ho napagbabawal — pero we discourage the use of these trumpets because parang kinakanyon mo ‘yung mga COVID virus, ‘no,” he said.
2020-12-17