IATF Ramps Up Public Health Interventions in Cebu City

To address the rising number of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases here, the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) is levelling up public health interventions in the city.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, who came here to assist Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu in implementing national government measures against Covid-19, said “we have to be mindful of the non-pharmaceutical public health interventions” such as wearing of face masks, not less than one-meter distancing, proper handwashing, and disinfection as well as proper etiquette on coughing”.

“One imperative is the use of masks. There has been a study that a mask will give 85 percent protection. This is part of the new normal,” he said during a virtual press briefing after a meeting with the IATF-EID technical working group, other Cabinet secretaries, and local officials in Cebu on Wednesday.

Duque said containment measures are very important in order “to minimize the spread of the virus” through mechanisms established by the IATF and the Department of Health (DOH).

“We have to be proactive, which means we need to do active case findings in the communities. Find the suspects and the probable. Those with symptoms (you have to) isolate them right away. Those without symptoms (put them under) quarantine,” he said, stressing the need for efficient contact tracing.

He added that Cebu needs to ramp up its testing capacity. “Now I’m told that the testing capacity is 6,000 and we hope they would be able to match the capacity in terms of total daily testing outputs (result)”.

Also, the DOH is deploying a total of 40 doctors here, with 19 of them to be sent to government hospitals and 21 others to Covid-19 infirmaries.

The Philippine Society of Medical Specialists is sending 22 doctors in addition to five MDs who are already helping Cebu in the fight against Covid-19.

These medical specialists are on top of a 33-man medical team, nine of whom are physicians, from the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

The DOH-7 has already deployed 270 nurses to private hospitals in Metro Cebu.

Cimatu, who was appointed by President Rodrigo Duterte to oversee the national government response to the Covid-19 crisis here, observed “progress in terms of enforcing minimum health standards” in the barangays.

Two village chiefs were issued show-cause order for mass gatherings during a religious event in Barangays Calamba and San Nicolas here, and, along with other officials and individuals, are now facing charges. Despite this, Cimatu said the people here are generally complying with the protocols.

Cimatu also observed zero fatality due to Covid-19 on Wednesday.

At the start of the presser, Cimatu prodded the Cebuanos to work with the IATF in efforts to graduate from the current enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) status into a lower classification.

“We have to end our quarantine already. You help us achieve ECQ — end Cebu quarantine,” he said.

On Tuesday night, Duterte announced that the city’s ECQ status is extended until July 15 while the cities of Mandaue, Lapu-Lapu and Talisay and the towns of Minglanilla and Consolacion remain under general community quarantine (GCQ).

The rest of the Cebu province is now under modified GCQ.

As part of ramping up capabilities of hospitals here in accepting Covid-19 patients, National Task Force Against Covid-19 chief implementer Carlito Galvez Jr. said they are putting up tents near emergency rooms.

Galvez said the national government is monitoring the response capabilities of hospitals in this city to ensure the sustainability of the gains from the IATF interventions during the second ECQ here from June 16 to 30. (PNA)