D.O.H. TO BROA DEN SCOPE OF C.O.D.E. PROTOCOL , CONTROL VIRUS SPREAD

Teams from the Depar tment of Health ( DOH) are poised to expand their visits to other areas around the country under its project dubbed as Coordinated Operations to Defeat Pandemic ( CODE) following similar visits in 17 key areas in Metro Manila and neighboring cities and towns in Southern Tagalog where Covid- 19 cases are tracked and monitored right on the spot.

CODE is a protocol adopted by the DOH in the government’s continuing battle to contain the spread of the pandemic, and one of its principal purpose is to eliminate “clusters of Covid- 19” cases in pre- determined and identified areas.

“We are rolling out [ the project] in other areas, in cities and provinces,” said DOH Undersecretar y and spokesman Maria Rosario Vergeire during the vir tual seminar “Media Repor ting in Disaster Situations” spearheaded by the US Embassy in Manila on Friday.

The program tasks CODE teams to undertake aggressive house- to- house case findings, symptom checking and interview of families in their effort to find out who among family members have been exposed to Covid- 19 positive individuals.

It also administers swab testing for individuals who showed symptoms of the disease and for those who are vulnerable like the elderly, those with co- morbidities and pregnant women.

During the visits by the CODE teams in 27 areas in Metro Manila and Southern Tagalog, some 1,500 confirmed cases were found while 10,000 close contacts were traced and placed under quarantine or isolation in designated facilities and temporary treatment facilities.

In extending the protocol, the DOH is expecting both to address and trace other cases on the spot, and thus minimize or stop the further spread of Covid- 19.

As of Friday, Vergeire reported that the DOH has listed 59,700 Covid- 19 active cases and 296,755 confirmed cases. At least, 5,127 deaths have also been recorded and 231,928 recoveries.

She added that the government has already administered a total of at least 3,508,642 tests as of Thursday while 21,716 beds have been allotted for Covid- 19 patients in various hospitals and medical facilities around the country. Of the number, 7,225 are found in private hospitals.

Verge ire also said any move by local government official store start their local economies like opening their ecotourism to outsiders should be subjected to careful study as a balance must be strike between economy and public health.

“We need to study carefully,” she said, adding that if the partial opening of the local economy has to be done, it should be “slow” and gradually implemented.

Baguio City has decided days ago to open up to tourists from Region 1 to rev up its economy but Mayor Benjamin Magalong has decided to delay it for at least a week following a spike in the number of Covid- 19 cases in the city.

Vergeire said the opening in full of any local economy should not affect public health.