Recovered Covid-19 patients in San Juan get food, cash aid

Mayor Francis Zamora said some 210 patients who recovered from the disease received assistance from the PRC. (File photo: Mayor Francis Zamora/Facebook)

MANILA – The Philippine Red Cross (PRC) and San Juan city government on Wednesday distributed some PHP3,500 cash assistance and PHP2,000 worth of food packs to recovered coronavirus disease (Covid-19) patients.

Mayor Francis Zamora said some 210 patients who recovered from the disease received assistance from the PRC.

He said an initial 90 recovered Covid-19 patients received the same aid from the PRC in September.

A total of 300 residents were chosen by the humanitarian organization for its second batch of multipurpose cash grant distribution, he added.

The city government said the PRC has distributed the same assistance to 787 residents of Barangay West Crame, from June to July this year.

PRC also hired 199 residents to be part of its cash-for-work program and received PHP3,500 as compensation.

Meanwhile, Zamora said the city government has greatly benefitted from free RT-PCR (real time-polymerase chain reaction) testing provided by the PRC through the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth).

Zamora thanked the PRC for helping the city government in its mass testing initiative.

“Because we had targeted aggressive mass testing, we were able to test between 2,000 to 3,000 individuals per week in San Juan City,” Zamora said.

He also cited PRC’s community efforts not only during the pandemic but also during national emergencies.

He said the city government has relied on the mass testing provided by the PRC as he credited the organization as a major factor in the decreasing number of active cases in San Juan.

In mid-August, the city government has started free swab testing for Covid-19 for its residents.

“Those who tested positive and their close contacts were immediately isolated or quarantined thereby avoiding further transmission and bringing down the active cases in San Juan City from 640 last September 2 to just 89, as of October 27,” he said.

As of October 27, San Juan recorded a total of 89 active cases and 2,913 recoveries.

“Without the free tests conducted by the Red Cross, the financial burden of the tests would have been shouldered by the local government,” Zamora said.

“This would have meant millions of pesos diverted from our relief efforts, our quarantine facilities, and our medical center,” he added.

With the help of the PRC, Zamora said the city government was able to focus on other necessary social measures needed to combat the spread of the dreaded Covid-19.

Zamora announced the city government will resume its aggressive mass testing for its residents on Friday.

“With this, we hope to have zero active cases by December of this year,” Zamora said.