Mass testing of persons under monitoring (PUMs) and persons under investigation (PUIs) becomes the Philippine government’s next move as confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country inflate to more than 3,000.
"We first need to contain the spread of the virus, that's why we conducted a lockdown, social distancing and also segregation of those vulnerable,” said National Task Force chief implementer, Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. “The next step is we have to have mass testing of the PUIs and PUMs so that we can isolate and treat those who are infected with the disease."
Operation is projected to begin on April 14.
Currently, hospitals can provide 1,000 tests per day and officials aim to increase it by 1,000 to 2,000 as there are 20,000 recorded PUMs and PUIs.
Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark Villar stated that the immediate conversion of facilities would add isolation space for COVID-19 patients and reduce the heavy load from hospitals in Metro Manila.
Construction of assigned temporary health facilities which includes Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) Forum Halls, World Trade Center, and Rizal Memorial Sports Complex have already begun and is expected to be used after 10 days.
DPWH is working with the Department of Health (DOH) and Philippine General Hospital (PGH) to design the layout of the temporary health facilities.
Nine hospitals are added to the list of accredited COVID Referral Centers for testing. The government is speeding up the process to increase this before mass testing starts.
Makeshift Intensive Care Units are also made out of shipping containers.
Starting last Friday, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has been distributing cash aid to economically struggling families.
Each family is given P5,000-P8,000 cash as part of the P200-billion support program of the government to sustain themselves during the lockdown.
As of April 5, confirmed cases has been tallied at 3,246 where 64 have recovered and 152 died.
Almost 80% of this statistic comes from Metro Manila, with the most hit city identified as Quezon City.
Some 204 countries are now affected with an estimated one million cases, more than 53,000 deaths, and more than 210,000 recoveries. The United States of America and Italy currently have the most number of cases and deaths.
Story by Jasmine Kimberly Ngo
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