TACLOBAN CITY- The city government here is engaging barangay health workers as part of its measures on the fight of possible spread of the coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19).
On Wednesday, about 450 barangay health workers of the city attended a meeting with the City Health Office (CHO) lead by Dr. Gloria Fabrigas, city health officer, setting the guidelines for this undertaking.
“Although we have no case yet of the COVID-19, the city government continues its preparation for a possible case of the COVID-19 through congregating the barangay health workers to discuss the plan on strengthening the surveillance in the community,” Fabrigas said.
As one of the members of the Barangay Health Emergency Response Team (BHERT), the barangay health workers will help in the surveillance and monitoring on the prevention of disease in their respective community.
BHERTs are responsible for tracing of persons with history of foreign travel, identification of persons under monitoring (PUMs) and persons under investigation (PUIs), informing the CHO of suspected person after identification as PUM, monitoring them on a daily basis, and taking of their vital signs and taking their temperature three times a day.
Other members of BHERTs include the barangay captain as chair, the barangay kagawad who chairs the committee on health as vice with the barangay midwife or nurse, and barangay tanods.
Above all, the CHO advices the community that the best prevention for this disease is to observe proper and frequent hand washing, avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth as well as stay away from crowded areas. (MERY AN RELI, ANGELO BALDESCO and LOIJEAN TOBIAS,EASTERN VISAYAS STATE UNIVERSITY STUDENT INTERNS)
