Business group to donate 1 million liters of ethyl alcohol
MANILA, Philippines – A business group plans to donate a million liters of a 70% ethyl alcohol to hospitals, clinics, and other agencies involved in the fight against COVID-19.
According to Alliance Global Group, Inc. (AGI), they are looking to dilute 850,000 liters of 96% ethyl alcohol to make it usable as a disinfectant in various facilities.
“Around 850,000 liters of 96-percent ethyl alcohol will be denatured in order to convert them into sanitizing and disinfectant alcohol, which can be used by hospitals, clinics, and government agencies that are tirelessly working to curb the spread of the coronavirus all over the country,” the company said.
Kevin Andrew Tan, AGI chief executive officer, said the company would donate the alcohol to the Department of Health.
Recently, the Philippines has seen a shortage in the supply of alcohol in groceries and drug stores, largely to panic buying and hoarding. This has affected frontline workers, including police officers, health workers, and other skeleton crew members.
As a result, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has limited people to purchasing just two bottles of alcohol and sanitizers per transaction.
“Through the Department of Health, we hope to distribute disinfectant alcohol to as many, if not, all the hospitals and clinics that are treating COVID-19 patients all over the country,” Tan explained. “We need to protect our frontliners – the doctors, nurses, and other healthcare and medical personnel – whose lives are at risk in protecting and treating people from this virus.”
“We are one with the nation in this fight to heal our country from COVID-19. We salute all the frontliners who are our real heroes during this challenging time. We join the nation in prayer and unity as we hope to rise together from this crisis as one Philippines,” he added.
READ: DTI to buyers: Purchase limit is 2 bottles of alcohol and 2 bottles of sanitizers
On Monday, President Rodrigo Duterte placed the whole of Luzon under an enhanced community quarantine, due to the increasing COVID-19 cases. As of Wednesday, there were 202 confirmed COVID-19 patients in the Philippines, 17 of whom have died.
Seven have recovered, while there were six patients who were allowed to go on home quarantine.
READ: 15 new COVID-19 cases bring total to 202
READ: Luzon now under ‘enhanced community quarantine’ – Palace
COVID-19 is a respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus that first emerged in Wuhan City in Hubei province in China late in 2019.
The International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses named the novel coronavirus as SARS-CoV-2.
Coronavirus is a family of viruses with surfaces having a crown-like appearance. The viruses are named for the spikes on their surfaces.
Worldwide, over 193,000 COVID-19 cases have been recorded, 7,865 of whom have died and 81,743 have recovered.
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