MANILA, Philippines — Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa on Thursday announced that the Department of Health (DOH) is on “Code Blue” status in Metro Manila, Ilocos region, Calabarzon, and Central Luzon amid the devastation left behind by the southwest monsoon, or habagat,” which was enhanced by Typhoon Carina.
“We have three regions that have raised code blue alert: Metro Manila regional office, which means even all DOH hospitals are considered on blue alert, ganun din ang Ilocos at ang Calabarzon,” Herbosa said.
(We have three regions that have raised a code blue alert: the Metro Manila regional office, which means that all DOH hospitals are also considered on blue alert, as well as Ilocos and Calabarzon.)
“Central Luzon is also on code blue,” he added.
“Code Blue” is raised to initiate coordination between dispatch teams, experts, and other emergency response agencies.
It also gives a go-ahead signal for planning support for affected regions during a long-term emergency and activates the department’s Incident Command System.
On Wednesday, the DOH also declared a “Code White” in Metro Manila, which means that health units must be in monitoring and standby mode for emergencies.
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Damaged healthcare facilities
In the same press conference, Herbosa said that 11 healthcare facilities nationwide were partially damaged by the heavy rains and flooding caused by the habagat.
One of them is San Lorenzo Ruiz General Hospital in Malabon City.
“Kapag umulan at nag-high tide, ‘yung dike umaapaw. So na-affect ‘yung ground floor. Pero sabi nila, they continue to provide services,” said Herbosa.
(When it rains and the tide is high, the dike overflows. So the ground floor was affected. But they said they continue to provide services.)
The Philippine General Hospital (PGH), on the other hand, is back to full operations as of Thursday.
“Back to full operations na ang PGH. Although kahapon, they have to close some areas kasi na-flood ‘yung ground floor ng ibang areas nila, and of course mahirap ma-access because alam niyo naman, naging dagat ang Taft Avenue, so mahirap din puntahan,” Herbosa said.
(PGH is back to full operations. However, yesterday, they had to close some areas because the ground floor of other areas was flooded, and of course, it’s difficult to access because, you know, Taft Avenue becomes a sea during a flood, so it’s also difficult to get to.)