DOH distributes PPEs, test kits to various health facilities

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health (DOH) has distributed personal protective equipment  (PPEs) for medical workers in different health facilities in the country while its subnational laboratories also receive test kits.

“Nabigyan na natin ng 37 health facilities na nagre-request ng personal protective equipment. Ang mga ospital na ito ay sa lalawigan ng Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Cordillera, Apayao, Calabarzon hanggang Sorsogon,” Health Undersecretary Rosette Vergeire said Wednesday.

(We already provided PPEs to 37 health facilities. These are from Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Apayao, Calabarzon and Sorsogon.)

Vergeire said they also distributed 3,800 testing kits to four subnational laboratories namely San Lazaro Hospital in Manila, Baguio General Hospital, Vicente Sotto Medical Center in Cebu, and Southern Philippines Medical Center in Davao City.

Of the 3,800, 1,300 kits were donated by the World Health Organization, 2,000 were from China while 500 were donated by the Korean government.

The Department of Health also recently acquired 5,000 test kits from Singapore which still needs validation and accreditation, Vergeire said.

Previously, The Lung Center of the Philippines was calling for donations of PPE suits as their stocks were starting to run out. The St. Jude’s Hospital in Laguna also appealed for PPEs as most of their workers use improvised garbage bags as protection for their medical staff in handling patients infected with coronavirus disease.

DOH advised medical workers treating patients diagnosed with COVID-19 should use PPEs which include gowns, gloves, disposable N95 respirator and eye protection.

To date, the Philippines has 636 positive cases of infectious disease. Of these, 38 people died while 26 recovered from the disease.