LUISSE RUTAO/ ERICSON GUIAO
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga- Governor Dennis “Delta” Pineda, in coordination with the concerned government agencies in the province, designed on Friday a protocol to maintain Pampanga “free” from any possible case of Novel Corona Virus or 2019- nCoV.
This, after the Department of Health (DOH) confirmed on Thursday, Jan 30, the first case of 2019-nCoV in the Philippines.
According to Pineda, he is now coordinating with the concerned government agencies to conduct and order preventive measures to ensure the safety of the Kapampangans from the said virus.
“Kailangan natin iprepare ang mga tao natin, hindi na kailangan may case muna tayo bago tayo gumalaw,” he said.
GOV DELTA SETS ANTI- NCOV WATCH DOWN TO BARANGAYS, SCHOOLS, AND HOSPITALS
To assure that the province is ready for any potential risk of 2019- nCoV, an organized system protocol was established intended to handle cases of the said virus in the communities, schools, and hospitals.
SCHOOLS
For students in both public and private schools, the Department of Education (DepEd) advised that they will release a memorandum order to require teachers in every school to conduct morning health assessment of their students.
An official said, if a student will acquire possible symptoms of the virus, the teacher in-charge must refer him to the nearest the Rural Health Unit (RHU).
COMMUNITY AND HOSPITALS
In the barangay level and for hospitals, health authorities are advised to conduct assessment interviews to patients who are placed under monitoring and investigation.
All patients will be referred to the Municipal Health Officer (MHO) or Rural Health Physician (RHP) for further check-up using an authorized assessment tool provided by DOH.
Once symptoms were detected, the patient will be referred to the Provincial Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit (PESU) or Regional Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit (RESU), for possible admission to Jose B. Lingad Memorial Regional Hospital (JBLRH).
For the hospitals, once validation from RESU or PESU was released, the patient will then be endorsed to the Regional Health Emergency Management Staff (HEMS) before the patient be admitted.
ASSURANCE TO THE PUBLIC
Given this, the governor said that there is no reason for his Kabalens to panic amid nCoV scare.
“I assure the Kapampangans na there is no need to panic, no cause for alarm, wala po tayong dapat i-worry right now. Everything is handled well by the Provincial Government,” he assured.
Governor Pineda encouraged the public to remain critical against circulation of “fake” news online.
“Maging responsible po tayo sa mga pinopost po natin at huwag po tayo agad magpapanic. Definitely, lahat po ng private and public hospital nakaconnect lahat yan sa DOH. In case na may confirmed tayong case, we’ll definitely inform the public right away,” he said.
Moreover, the governor also appealed to Kapampangans to avoid travelling to and from affected countries to reduce the risk of entry of the virus in the province.
According to World Health Organization (WHO) “Coronaviruses (CoV) are a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV).”
Common signs of infection include “respiratory symptoms, fever, cough, shortness of breath, and breathing difficulties.”
