DOH boosts Covid-19 response in Visayas, Mindanao

MANILA – The Department of Health (DOH) assured that it is boosting measures against the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) in Visayas and Mindanao, which both grapple with a surge in infections.

In a virtual presser on Friday, DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the Bicol Region in Luzon, the regions of Western Visayas, Central Visayas, Eastern Visayas, Northern Mindanao, Davao Region, Soccsksargen, Caraga, and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) have logged a two-week growth rate in new cases while those in the National Capital Region (NCR) and its neighboring areas are on a decline.

“Patuloy po ang pagbabantay ng DOH sa mga rehiyon ng Visayas at Mindanao. Kasabay po nito ang iba’t ibang hakbang at kilos na ating isinasagawa upang mas mapatatag pa rin natin ang ating health care capacity (The DOH is continuously monitoring the regions of Visayas and Mindanao. This is simultaneously done with various measures we are imposing to strengthen our health care capacity),” Vergeire said.

In response to the surge in infections, DOH Undersecretary Abdullah Dumama Jr. said public hospitals in the Visayas and Mindanao have been ordered to review their surge capacity plans and increase the number of their dedicated Covid-19 beds in intensive care units (ICU) by 50 percent.

“Samantala, hinihikayat ang mga private hospitals natin na dagdagan din ang kanilang bilang ng dedicated Covid-19 beds hanggang 20 percent to 30 percent ang gusto natin sa kanilang mga ICU (Meanwhile, we are asking private hospitals to increase their dedicated Covid-19 beds in ICUs by 20 percent to 30 percent),” Dumama said.

To date, he said about 365 ICU beds have been added in Western Visayas, Central Visayas, Eastern Visayas, Northern Mindanao, Davao Region, Soccsksargen, and Caraga while about 957 ward beds have been added in these regions and in the BARMM.

“Ang kabuuang bilang naman ng temporary treatment and monitoring facilities (TTMF) beds sa mga naturang rehiyon ay nasa higit 88,000 na po (The total number of beds at TTMF in the said regions is now over 88,000),” Dumama said.

However, he said some regions in Visayas and Mindanao have yet to reach their target of one TTMF bed per 1,000 population.

To ensure that enough healthcare workers treat the sick, he said the DOH in Visayas and Mindanao have begun emergency hiring of health care workers and have deputized doctors for priority level 2 hospitals and TTMFs.

“Nakipag-ugnayan din po ang inyong DOH sa uniformed personnel groups gaya ng Philippine National Police (PNP), Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), at Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) para sa pag-deploy ng kanilang human resources for health (The DOH have been coordinating with uniformed personnel groups like the PNP, PCG and BFP to deploy their human resources for health),” Dumama said.

Since February, he said around 4,000 health care workers have so far been deployed in Western Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, Davao Region, Soccsksargen and Caraga.

He said Centers for Health Development (CHD) are also equipped with personal protective equipment (PPE) sets and other life-saving equipment.

To date, he said PPE sets worth PHP2.7 million have been distributed across Region 9 while almost 130,000 pieces of PPE sets have been distributed in other regions.

To help the public manage hospital costs related to Covid-19, he said CHDs are coordinating with the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth), the Malasakit Program Office, and hospitals for talks on Covid-19 claims.

He said DOH Secretary Francisco Duque III has ordered all DOH regional directors to coordinate with the respective regional assistance vice president of PhilHealth in their area to assist and accelerate payment to hospitals.

To help detect more Covid-19 cases and avoid further spread, he said the testing capacity of laboratories and referral systems in every province are also being addressed in Visayas and Mindanao.

“Nananawagan din po kami sa mga LGUs na pag-igtingin pa lalo ang pag-hanap ng mga kaso at ng kanilang kanilang mga close contacts para agaran silang maihatid sa mga TTMF o ospital (We call on all LGUs to intensify its investigation of possible Covid-19 cases and their close contacts so that they will immediately be brought to TTMFs or hospitals),” Dumama said.

He noted that about 210,000 doses of Pfizer vaccines have also arrived in Cebu and Davao since Thursday from the COVAX facility, further boosting the government’s Covid-19 vaccine drive in Visayas and Mindanao.

As of June 8, the DOH said Mindanao has 13,425 active cases while the Visayas has 9,725, showing a “faster increase” in the number of infections in the archipelagos.