Screen evacuees for virus symptoms, local execs urged
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health (DOH) on Monday reminded local officials to ensure that residents displaced by Typhoon “Quinta” (international name: Molave) are properly screened for any symptoms of COVID-19 to prevent an outbreak in the evacuation centers. (See related story on Page A4.)
Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said evacuees who showed symptoms should immediately be isolated, while all others should comply with minimum health standards.
“[Evacuees] should wear masks, the [evacuation centers] should have hand-washing areas, and [officials should] make sure that there is a distance of at least 1 meter in between families,” Vergeire said.
Strict monitoring
She added that the building housing evacuees should not be the same building used by the local government as its temporary treatment and monitoring center.
“There should also be strict monitoring by the local governments of all evacuees to detect who are developing symptoms so they can be isolated and brought to the quarantine facility,” she said.
Vergeire pointed out that symptom screening is the best option officials have due to the urgency of needing to evacuate displaced residents.
On Monday, the DOH recorded an additional 1,607 cases, pushing the overall number of confirmed coronavirus infections to 371,630.
Top five areas
No city in Metro Manila was listed in the top five areas with the most number of new cases. Davao City topped the list with 90, followed by the provinces of Cavite (88), Rizal (74), Negros Occidental (68) and Quezon (68).
The DOH said 245 more patients had recovered, bringing the total number of COVID-19 survivors in the country to 328,258. The death toll, however, breached the 7,000 mark as 62 patients succumbed to the severe respiratory disease.
A total 7,039 patients have died from COVID-19 since the start of the epidemic.
The recoveries and deaths left the country with 36,333 active cases, of which 82.6 percent are mild, 10.9 percent asymptomatic, 2.3 percent severe and 4.1 percent critical.
