Caraga readies
contingency plan for COVID-19 worst-case scenario
By
Venus L. Garcia
BUTUAN
CITY, March 30 (PIA) -- With the exponential increase of coronavirus disease or
COVID-19 cases in the Philippines, the Department of Health – Center for Health
and Development Caraga has intensified its health emergency response action to
combat the virus.
A
contingency plan was devised and finalized during the 1st Quarter Full Council
Meeting of the Caraga Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council
(RDRRMC). This is in preparation for the worst-case scenario especially that
COVID-19 has already entered Mindanao.
Part of
it is the strengthened vigilance to prevent the spread of COVID-19,
consolidation of resources, and plotting of response activities whenever the
situation will aggravate.
“We do
not know so much about this novel virus so we have to take aggressive steps of
preparation. It is better to be ready because we can’t afford to be complacent
about safety and security. Simply follow the guidelines imposed by the
authorities until we beat this COVID-19,” said DOH-CHD Caraga regional director
Jose Llacuna, Jr.
With
Europe that has the fastest growing cases of COVID-19, Dr. Llacuna stressed
that everyone has a role to play in reducing community spread. He said that
based on the World Health Organization (WHO) assessment, the health risk is
very high at the regional and global level.
"In
Caraga region, we are currently under Code Red Alert (Sublevel 1). Health
emergency response is being carried out," said Llacuna, adding that
provision of timely advice on measures to protect people's health to prevent
the spread of this outbreak is also undertaken.
The
local government ensures a stricter implementation of the localized community
quarantine even with the absence of confirmed cases in the region.
Some
barangays have also started the repacking and house-to-house distribution of
food packs.
“Our
barangay has purchased a sizable number of canned goods, instant noodles, and
sacks of rice for distribution to families or beneficiaries that were
considered as indigent,” said Wilo Montero, punong barangay of Brgy. Bayanihan,
this city.
In
Surigao de Norte, the frontliners of the Caraga Regional Hospital have also
received health at sanitary supplies such as alcohol, anti-bacterial soap and
disinfectant aside from rice and other food items.
Meanwhile,
the nurses who are deployed at the barangay health centers seek the assistance
of the national government for the provision of additional face masks, gloves
and disinfectant.
“We
really lack the supply of face masks and gloves and other personal protective
equipment. Thus, we appeal for the support from our government and other
benevolent stakeholders to look into our needs as we continue to perform our
duties in our field of work as frontliners,” said Louise Francia R. Centeno,
registered nurse of the DOH-CHD Caraga who served at the Barangay
Health Center under the national deployment project.
Caraga
remains a COVID-19-free region, with 20 total remaining patients under investigation
(PUIs) and more than six thousand nine hundred persons under monitoring (PUMs)
wherein 4,300 of them were cleared and done with the isolation period, as of
March 21, 2020. (VLG/PIA-Caraga)
Caraga FabLab produces face shields for
COVID-19 frontliners
BUTUAN
CITY, March 30 -- Seeing the need to help the communities be safe as the
country is put into a state of calamity because of the Coronavirus disease 2019
(COVID-19) pandemic, Fabrication Laboratory (FabLab) Caraga is printing
protective gears for the frontliners.
FabLab
Caraga, one of the Shared Service Facility (SSF) projects of the Department of
Trade and Industry (DTI), has started producing face shields last March 23 and
continues to donate more to the different agencies in the region.
“This
initiative is a collaborative effort of the FabLab community in the entire
country as a means of support to the real heroes of this crisis, our frontliners,”
said Engr. Isagani Roma, FabLab Caraga manager.
As of
press time, the laboratory has already printed a total of 220 protective gears
using three dimensional (3D) printing and aims to reach the production rate of
200 every day as they shift their production by utilizing a laser cutting
machine.
The
laboratory has already provided face shields for the Philippine Medical
Association, city government of Butuan, DTI, Department of Science and
Technology (DOST), Philippine Information Agency (PIA) and Caraga State
University (CSU).
Roma
said that they would willingly accept written requests from various agencies
and organizations as well as financial and material donations.
“The
laboratory is self-sustaining so we call for donations so we can replenish our
materials and produce more,” Roma added.
DTI
Caraga has already donated acrylic sheets, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) sheets, and
industrial glue that are needed for the production of the face shields.
FabLab
Caraga is a space for innovation by providing coaching, mentoring, and access
to digital fabrication tools.
Through
CSU, the laboratory seeks to develop pool of designers to assist micro, small,
and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in product design and development.
In
2017, DTI Caraga provided assistance worth P12 million for the purchase of two
units of 3D printers, laser cutter and engraver, wood milling machine, computer
numerical control (CNC) machine for metal crafts, and large format printers.
Nationwide,
SSF is a project of DTI that targets to give MSMEs access to better technology
and sophisticated equipment to become more competitive in the field
(DTI-Caraga/PIA-Caraga)
