Status of Batangas Province against COVID-19, discussed

By Thiago Santos September 25, 2020 BATANGAS CITY - Now in the 6th month since the country underwent community quarantine due to the COVID-1...

By Thiago Santos
September 25, 2020

BATANGAS CITY - Now in the 6th month since the country underwent community quarantine due to the COVID-19 pandemic, one of the questions of every Batangueño is what is the state of the province of Batangas in dealing with this pandemic.

In this regard, this was discussed by Dr. Gerald Alday, Batangas Provincial Health Officer I and Incident Commander of the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases of the Province of Batangas, various questions regarding this in his interview with B'yaheng Capitol on September 9, 2020.



Dr. Alday clarified the reason for the stay of Batangas Province in the General Community Quarantine (GCQ) despite the higher number of COVID-19 cases in the provinces that are now in the Modified GCQ.

According to Dr. Alday, the IATF had earlier issued a recommendation recommending that Batangas remain in the GCQ, and although it may appeal, Gov. DoDo Mandanas, Batangas IATF Chairperson, to follow the decision of the national government because he said they know better what is better in the province and have more capacity to determine which category of community quarantine should be included due to many experts and studies what they do before issuing a recommendation.



He also said that he wants to slow down the economic opening in the province, so as to ensure the safety of the Batangueños, and also avoid the possible increase in the number of COVID-19 cases if Batangas is chosen to be included in the MGCQ.

In terms of contact tracing and other measures against COVID-19, the number of contact tracers in Batangas is not enough, but it can be considered good to do contract tracing here, which was recently commended by the Department of Health (DOH) Region IV-A.

Dr. Alday said that since March this year, when the COVID-19 pandemic was just beginning to spread in the country, Gov. The repair and maintenance of 12 district hospitals in the province, including the addition of isolation rooms, and the placement of additional beds in them, as well as the ongoing construction of buildings available as isolation facilities, have been experienced.

There is also an isolation facility in Malainin, Ibaan, run by the DOH, which already has 137 patients, including 111 civilians, and 26 policemen and Persons Deprived of Liberty (PDLs).

Isolation facilities continue to be added to the province, where evaculation centers are being set up to use isolation facilities as assistance to local government units.

“Tayo po ay handang tumulong, anytime po, basta po tungkol sa mga pasilidad. At tayo ay nakapagbigay na rin po ng mga medical supplies sa mga nag-request na LGUs gaya ng PPEs, disinfectants, even po yung mga inilagay po natin sa Malainin na mina-manage ng DOH, gaya ng hospital mattress, at kung anuman pong mga pangangailangan nila. Talaga pong tumutulong tayo,” Dr. Alday said.

According to Dr. Alday, since the formation of the IATF, even before the meetings were virtualized in accordance with health protocols, Gov. Mandanas in task force meetings.

He added that even before the towns in the province are locked down, the governor needs the endorsement, so when LGUs send an e-mail to the PHO office, he calls anytime. governor and he immediately responded and said he would endorse it immediately for the sake of the town and city.

So far, according to Dr. Alday, more than ₱ 2 Billion is already being used in the province's COVID-19 Response Fund, which has been allocated to the existing structures and equipment and facilities.

Dr. Alday also repeated since March, their office has been open to hiring health workers. But because no one submits the application, even though the salary is high, the PHO has a shortage of staff.

Batid umano nito na marahil ay natatakot ang mga health workers na mahawa sa virus, kaya naman bilang halimbawa, isinaad nito na sa Malainin Isolation Facility ay wala pa ni isang health worker na nagpositibo sa COVID-19 sapagkat maigting na sinusunod ng mga ito ang health protocols na ipinapatupad.

He said he was aware that health workers may be afraid of being infected with the virus, so for example, he stated that in the Malainin Isolation Facility there is not a single health worker who has tested positive for COVID-19 because they strictly follow health protocols implemented.

When it comes to testing centers, there are those at the Philippine Red Cross and Batangas Medical Center. Gov. Mandanas will set up testing centers, which only fix the necessary permits and documents from the DOH and PhilHealth.

“Nasa tamang direksyon po tayo sa paglaban sa COVID-19. Tayo po ay slowly but surely, kasi gusto po nating tayo ay talagang ligtas kapag lumalabas sa ating mga tahanan at panay din po ang ating paalala, katulong din po ang PIO ng Province of Batangas sa pagpapaalala sa ating mga kababayan kung ano ang mga dapat nilang gawin,” Dr. Alday said.

He reminds, “Tayo po ay sumunod sa ating minimum health standards na always wash our hands with soap, social distancing, always wear face mask and face shield at huwag po tayong maging pasaway sa sama-samang paglaban dito sa COVID-19.”