TACLOBAN CITY- The dreaded coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continue to infect healthcare workers, frontliners, and close contacts of the infected patients here in the region.
On Monday (August 17) alone, the region recorded an all-time high cases at 95, where 30 are healthcare workers.
The following day, 86 new cases were added, infecting another three healthcare workers and 38 close contacts of COVID-19 patients.
While on August 19, a total of 19 frontliners out of the 58 new cases were infected with the virus.
The total number of COVID-19 cases in the region is at 1,819, with 1,177 (64.70 percent) recoveries and 663 active cases, as of August 19.
In Tacloban City, Dr. Gloria Fabrigas, acting city health officer, maintained that contract tracing is an effective public health intervention to reduce infections in the population and stop the spread of the virus.
The CHO urged the public to notify the contact tracing team of their respective barangays if they knew someone as a possible contact of a confirmed case within the city or from other municipalities, noting that there are lots of transient residents staying in the city.
“If you think you are a close contact, please do not hesitate to message us or get in touch with us so we can assist you,” Fabrigas said in a statement.
“Be vigilant. We cannot refuse entry of people coming from outside of Tacloban because referral health facilities are here. Pray for the city government of Tacloban, especially our frontliners. Encourage them as they can only do so much,” she added.
As of Wednesday evening, Tacloban recorded 37 active cases which include healthcare workers. (RONALD O. REYES/LIZBETH ANN A. ABELLA))
More healthcare workers, frontliners infected with COVID-19
DPWH implements additional health protocols to fight COVID-19
CARIGARA, Leyte – Wearing of face shield are now tightly enforced in the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH)-Leyte Second District Engineering Office as the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) continues.
In line with the new guideline by the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Disease, the new health protocol is to require all the government and private employees to wear face shields on top of face masks.
In response to this new guideline, the office issued a memorandum signed by Engineer Francisco E. Robin Jr., officer-in-charge assistant district engineer, requiring all employees of the district to strictly wear face shields on the top of face masks.
Employees who are not wearing face shields are not allowed to enter in the office premises.
“To provide a safe working environment and with the increasing number of cases here in Leyte, it is my responsibility to protect our workers and stakeholders from this virus,” Robin said.
The district office still continue to exercise social distancing, washing of hands before entering the office, hourly disinfection of tables, chairs, telephones, computer keyboards, doorknobs, provision of footbath in every entrance door, constantly checking of employees’ temperature were conducted as part of the general preventive measures.
Alternative work arrangement in compressed work week is still implemented in adherence to Civil Service Commission Announcement No. 12 Series of 2020 to ensure non-disruption in the delivery of public service with due observance of social distancing policy to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 and other preventive health measures.
(LIZBETH ANN A. ABELLA)
DENR donates P2.4 million confiscated lumber for victims of typhoon ‘Ambo’
TACLOBAN CITY – The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) here in the region has donated lumber worth more than P2.4 million to the victims of typhoon ‘Ambo’.
DENR-8 Assistant Regional Director for Technical Services Forester Jose Bascos, in a statement during the formal signing of the deed of donation of confiscated forest products said that while they were saddened that these trees have been felled down illegally, the timely reaction of our law enforcement officers resulted to its seizure and confiscation.
“We can say that donating these lumbers to victims of Typhoon Ambo is a silver lining to an otherwise unfortunate event,” he said.
Bascos said that forest products were transferred to the custody of the provincial government of Northern Samar which were later distributed to the different local government units (LGUs) of the province for the construction of their respective COVID-19 isolation facilities.
Other government agencies whose offices were damaged by Ambo when it struck Northern Samar in May 2020, were also recipients of the donated lumber.
Among the recipients were the Department of Education (DepEd) for the construction of classrooms, the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and Philippine Army (PA) for the repair of their respective offices and camps.
The subject of the donation has total cost of P2.48 million which included the 1,410 pieces of laua-an with a volume of 27,038 bd. ft. and an estimated market value of P1.32 million.
Also donated were 51 pieces of boat keels with a volume 23,149.145 bd. ft. with an estimated market value of P1.15 million.
Bascos said that the said forest products were confiscated as a result of the successful anti-illegal logging operation dubbed as the “Battle for San Isidro Forest: Anti-Illegal Logging Operation”.
The DENR enforcement team in coordination with elements from the Philippine Army (PA) and the Philippine National Police (PNP), acting on information from concerned citizens, conducted operations at Brgy. Happy Valley, San Isidro, Northern Samar on April 24-26, 2020 and May 4-8, 2020 that yielded to the seizure of forest products with an estimated total market value of P5.4 million. A portion of which formed part of the donated forest products.
(RESTITUTO A. CAYUBIT)
Catbalogan city mayor tested positive for COVID-19
EV’s COVID-19 cases now at 1,918
TACLOBAN CITY – Catbalogan City Mayor Dexter Uy confirms that he is positive of the corona virus (COVID-19), making him the first elected official from the region to get the infection.
In his video message evening August 20, Uy,26, said that now that he was tested positive of the dreaded virus, he asked to be placed at their isolation facility.
The Catbalogan city mayor is among the 53 fresh cases of the city of which 36 were health care workers at the Samar Provincial Hospital while 17 were close contacts of previous confirmed case.
Uy narrated that he experienced symptoms such as fever, tiredness, colds and cough then loss of taste and smell which made him decide to undergo swabbing.
Mayor Uy reiterated for the public to take seriously the health protocols being imposed by the government in order to contain further spread of the dreaded virus.
He added that in his effort to lessen the effects of COVID-19 in the city by going out and reminding his residents, he did not expect to get the infection.
“I don’t want other Catbaloganons to experience what I have experienced. Don’t do the things that I did,” Uy said.
“I am appealing to please stay at home, always wear face masks, wear face shield, practice social distancing, and wash your hands. Again, I am appealing for us to work together to stop the spread of this virus. Stay at home, that is your greatest contribution in this fight against COVID-19,” he added.
A total of 97 fresh cases of Covid-19 were announced by the regional office of the Department of Health (DOH) Thursday evening, August 20. This brings the region’s total COVID-19 cases to 1, 918 cases.
The confirmatory test was conducted at the Eastern Visayas Regional Covid-19 Testing Center at the Eastern Visayas Regional Medical Center-Magsaysay and at the Divine Word Hospital Virology Laboratory.
The 97 new cases is the highest record of positive case in a single day in the region.
These cases were from Samar with 67; Leyte with 25 and Northern Samar with five.
Of the 97 new cases, 41 were health care workers, 27 were close contacts of previous COVID-19 confirmed patients while the rest were locally stranded individuals.
With the increasing number of health care workers at Samar Provincial Hospital who have acquired the infection, the DOH is mulling the idea of sending augmentation personnel at the said hospital, John Paul Roca, DOH-8 information officer.
Active COVID-19 cases in the region is now at 685. (ROEL T. AMAZONA)
Region now under second wave of COVID-19 infection, says DOH
TACLOBAN CITY –Eastern Visayas is now experiencing the second wave of COVID-19 infection.
Thus said Dr. Minerva Molon, regional director of the Department of Health (DOH), who based her disclosure on the ballooning of coronavirus disease cases of the region for the past weeks now.
“Base sa datos ng ating mga kumpirmadong kaso ng COVID-19, masasabi natin na sa sitwasyong ito ay nasa second wave na po tayo. Ibig sabihin, narating na natin ang peak ng first wave during May 31 – June 20, muling bumaba naman sa mga sumunod na morbidity week, at muli namang tumaas during July 12-18,” Molon said during a virtual press conference on Wednesday(August 19).
“Sa first wave ng ating COVID-19, naitala natin na more than 70% ay mga locally stranded individuals (LSIs) at ngayon sa second wave infection, there is evidence of a more infectious strain and it is noted that majority of infections for the past three weeks are LSIs at local cases kung saan may mga panibagong healthcare workers tayo na na-infect,” she added.
As of August 18, there were 53 healthcare workers infected by the COVID-19 of which 28 of them are confined in the hospital.
Eastern Visayas has now a total of 1, 819 confirmed cases since March when the first patient was reported in the region. Of these 633 are active cases.
Of the six provinces, Leyte recorded the highest cases at 766 followed by Samar with 495; Southern Leyte, 191; Biliran,63; Northern Samar,54; and Eastern Samar with 37.
In the advisory of DOH-8 released August 19, 58 new cases were added to the increasing list of COVID-19 infected individuals.
Majority of the new cases are frontliners and close contacts of earlier confirmed COVID-19 infected individuals while others are LSIs and health care workers.
The DOH regional office also announced areas where there are clustering cases of COVID-19 infection.
These areas are the villages of Holy Child 1 in Alangalang; Barayong in Palo; Cabuynan in Tanauan; and Linao in Ormoc City, all in Leyte province.
In Samar, these are in Villa Aurora in Basey; Igot in Villareal, and villages of Mercedes, Canlapwas, Poblacion 9 and Poblacion 13, all in Catbalogan City.
These areas has two or more cases from different households and in workplace.
Based on the data of the DOH, Villa Aurora has the most number of COVID-19 cases in the past two weeks with 27, followed by Mercedes with 14 cases.
Catbalogan City Mayor Dexter Uy, responding to the announcement of the DOH, issued an executive order for the implementation of zoning containment in the city.
Three villages (Mercedes, Canlapwas, and Poblacion 13) were placed under Enhanced Community Quarantine; 19 barangays were placed under Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine; four villages under General Community Quarantine and another four areas under Modified General Community Quarantine.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)
Alfred says no to lockdown
As COVID-19 cases of Tacloban see a spike
TACLOBAN CITY – Amid increasing cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) here in the city, Mayor Alfred Romualdez would not impose a city-wide lockdown but would just close the areas where there are high cases of infection.
Mayor Romualdez made this declaration as COVID-19 cases in the city saw a sharp increase this week which involved several health workers and frontliners.
The city has about 140 confirmed COVID-19 cases.
In a press conference on Wednesday (August 19), Mayor Romualdez said that despite of some calls for him to impose a lockdown in the entire city, he would rather enforce a zoning containment strategy.
Under the zoning containment strategy, areas are classified into four zones based on set parameters: the Critical Zone (CrZ) which refers to the areas where the initial number of cases or several clustering of cases have been identified within the past 7 days; the Containment Zone (CZ) or areas without new cases but are adjacent to a geographic unit categorized as Critical Zone (CrZ);the Buffer Zone (BZ) which refers to the areas without new cases but are adjacent to areas categorized as Containment Zone (CZ).
With the use of zoning containment, local government units will be able to design and implement interventions that do not cause enormous strain to economies, compromising people’s goodwill and emotional well-being, and undermining people’s resilience.
According to the city mayor, placing the entire city under lockdown would not only hurt its economy but even the rest of the region.
“We are not going to lockdown Tacloban because mapa-paralyze ang economy ng buong region. If based sa report ng City Health and Department of Health may explosion of positive cases sa isang lugar, then I will lockdown that area only,” Romualdez said.
He added that he already made a strict order to all enforcers to apprehend those who are not wearing face masks and closure of business establishments that do not practice health protocols like physical distancing.
“I can assure you that we are on top of the situation. But my advice to the public is to remain vigilant. Wear mask, implement social distancing, practice proper hygiene, and avoid going to other towns,” Romualdez said.
Instead of waiting for the vaccine, Romualdez said that people should instead follow all mitigating measures that are being imposed by the health department to limit getting infected and spread of the virus.
He also urged the residents of Tacloban help the city government and its law enforcers by reporting those who do not follow the health protocols in public transportation and other public places.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)