Kids in evacuation centers may face higher risk of COVID-19 infection – group

Residents of Legazpi City, Albay province evacuate before Typhoon Rolly enters the Bicol Region. This photo was taken on Saturday, Oct. 31, 2020. (Photo by MARK ALVIC ESPLANA / Inquirer Southern Luzon)

MANILA, Philippines —  Thousands of children in cramped evacuation centers set up due to  Super Typhoon Rolly may be facing a higher risk of COVID-19 infection, advocate group Save the Children Philippines said in a statement issued on Monday.

“We call on the local government to urgently put in place proper health protocols to protect people sheltering in evacuation centers from life-threatening diseases including COVID-19,” Alberto Muyot, chief executive officer of the group, said.

“They must also ensure children and their families staying in evacuation centers are provided with hygiene essentials, nutritious food and clean water,” he added.

For its part, Save the Children vowed to deploy aid workers and distribute basic life-saving hygiene kits and emergency supplies to the worst-affected parts of Luzon island as soon as possible.

The typhoon, internationally known as Goni, battered part of Luzon, particularly the Bicol Region — where it made its first landfall in Catanduanes on Sunday — and Southern Luzon over the weekend.

It brought catastrophic winds, storm surges, and widespread flooding. The extent of the damage in coastal areas is still unknown, but it is feared to have had a high humanitarian impact.

Save the Children also urged the government to look into other needs of children and their parents — such as providing breast milk to babies and addressing the psychosocial needs of the evacuees.

During calamities like typhoons, health authorities are always on the watch for possible outbreaks of disease in typically crowded evacuation centers. But the COVID-19 pandemic — which has so far infected over 300,000 individuals and killed over 7,000 others in the Philippines — may make it more difficult to ensure the health of evacuees.

Earlier,  authorities reported that 87,000 families had been evacuated in preparation for the landfall of the typhoon, but the numbers had since increased.

On Monday, an additional 2,298 cases brought the total confirmed COVID-19 infections nationwide to 385,400, of which 29,301 are considered active cases. Of the total number of patients, 348,830 have recovered and 7,269 have died.

 —With a report from Miggy Dumlao

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