Nurses wearing protective gears prepare the holding area for possible case of novel Coronavirus at Ospital ng Paranaque along Quirino Avenue in Paranaque City.
INQUIRER PHOTO / RICHARD A. REYES
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health (DOH) on Tuesday urged the public not to discriminate against and turn their backs on health workers who are in the frontlines of the COVID-19 battle.
This after some hospital workers in Iloilo were reportedly banned in their boarding houses and own barangays.
Health Undersecretary Ma. Rosario Vergeire said DOH has already relayed this report to the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases so that concerned government agencies can investigate and provide a solution to the matter.
“Hindi po ito ang panahon para talikuran natin ang ating mga healthcare workers. Kami po ay nakikiusap sa ating sambayanan. Kami po ay nakikiusap sa mga kapwa Pillipino, na sana kandiliin po natin ang ating healthcare workers. Alagaan po natin sila. ‘Pag nagkasakit po tayo sila po ang mag-aalaga sa atin,” she said in a televised press briefing.
(This is not the time to turn our backs from our healthcare workers. We are appealing to the public, to our fellow Filipinos to show kindness to our healthcare workers. Let us take care of them. If we get sick, they will be the ones to take care of us.)
Vergeire noted that health workers observe protective measures to not contract the coronavirus disease when treating confirmed cases or patients under investigation (PUIs).
She also called on local government units in areas where cases of discrimination on doctors and nurses are reported to provide shelter to health workers.
Doctors, nurses, and other health workers have been in the frontlines of the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, which has affected more than 386,960 people worldwide and killed more than 16,750.
In the Philippines, 552 people have so far been found positive for COVID-19, including the 35 who already died from the disease.