The city government, through a program it called “Maintenance Mo, Delivery Ko,’’ will deliver the seniors’ medicines at their homes.
“Our barangay health workers will be doing door-to-door deliveries of basic maintenance medicines for our senior citizens with hypertension and diabetes,” said Mayor Toby Tiangco on Facebook last Thursday (April 9).
Some of the maintenance medicines that would be delivered are losartan, simvastatin, metformin, and amlodipine, according to the mayor.
“We want our elderly to stay inside their homes and not to go out to get their maintenance medicines,” said Tiangco.
“According to experts, they are vulnerable to COVID-19 so it is important that we keep them safe and healthy,” he said.
Seniors over the age of 60, particularly those over 70, are the most vulnerable to COVID-19 and are at highest risk, according to medical experts.
Navotas City’s program is also in line with experts’ appeal to prevent the elderly from going outside their homes and strengthen their immune system as they are most susceptible to pneumonia, or lung infection, which is the most serious effect of COVID-19.
Tiangco earlier sent a stern warning to violators of the quarantine, saying no exemptions would save them from arrest. As of Thursday, 784 adults and minors had been apprehended by the city government for violating the quarantine.
Navotas City currently has 11 confirmed COVID-19 cases, 103 persons under monitoring, or those with no symptoms, and 64 persons under investigation, or those who show symptoms.
There is a total of 4,076 COVID-19 cases in the Philippines and 203 deaths, as of April 9. At least 124 persons have recovered.