QC approves guidelines on disinfecting various places vs COVID-19

Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / NINO JESUS ORBETA

MANILA, Philippines — The local government of Quezon City on Thursday approved the guidelines on disinfecting public spaces and the environment to combat the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

In a statement, Mayor Joy Belmonte signed the guidelines crafted by the city’s Incident Management Team on COVID-19.

The guidelines stressed that there should be “clear processes when it comes to disinfecting infrastructure and other public areas in the city.”

According to the recommended guidelines, the management team said that it was necessary that “evidence-based protocols are established on the ideal means of cleaning and disinfecting various buildings and other public spaces.”

Belmonte said that the guidelines covers “public outdoor spaces, including but not limited to parks, roads, markets, and other open spaces, building facades, health care and community caring facilities environment and vehicles used to transport suspected, probable and confirmed [COVID-19] cases.”

Also included are “vehicles used to transport cadavers with COVID-19 probable or related causes of deaths, and other public facilities and funeral parlors dedicated for use in COVID-19 related operations.”

Residential areas and communities will be covered as well, Belmonte added.

The guidelines mandate that outdoor spaces and building facades will be disinfected.

At least a day before disinfection, concerned barangays will be informed so their residents can be advised to stay indoors and stay away from areas to be disinfected.

Meanwhile, indoor spaces and environmental surfaces in healthcare, community care facilities and funeral parlors should be cleaned on a regular basis, as per the recommended guidelines.

Walls, blinds and window curtains in areas should be regularly cleaned, while misting and spraying of disinfectant should be conducted twice a day to vehicle interior and upholstery, the guidelines further read.

Those who will do the disinfection are instructed to wear the personal protective equipment (PPE) while performing their task, Belmonte stated.

“Failure to properly disinfect the environment carries not only risk associated with breach of host barriers but also risk for person-to-person transmission and transmission of environmental pathogens,” she said.

“Mahalagang may malinaw tayong mga pagkilos sa paglilinis ng mga pampublikong lugar upang mapigil natin ang pagkalat ng COVID-19, (It’s important we have clear actions when it comes to disinfecting our public places so as to stop the spread of COVID-19),” the Quezon City mayor added.

Quezon City currently has 982 confirmed COVID-19 patient, having the  most number of cases in Metro Manila.

Meanwhile, the Philippines has a total of 5,660 cases of the viral disease, of which 435 recovered while 362 succumbed to COVID-19.

Edited by JPV