Handa daw! Vince Dizon claims quarantine facilities enough for spike in COVID-19 cases

The country has enough isolation centers and quarantine facilities for coronavirus disease (Covid-19) patients, National Policy Against Covid-19 deputy chief implementer, Sec. Vince Dizon said on Friday.

Dizon, also the country’s testing czar, said the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is non-stop in building more quarantine facilities to isolate more Covid-19 patients.

“Ngayon po marami diyan ay patapos na rin para lang sigurado tayo na handa tayo na kung tumaas ang mga kaso ay mayroon tayong paglalagyan ng ating mga kababayan na magkakasakit (Most of the facilities are about to be completed just to make that we are ready once the [Covid-19] cases will increase, we can immediately isolate those infected ones),” Dizon said during a virtual Laging Handa public briefing.

The government is also working on the deployment of doctors and nurses to these newly built isolation facilities, he said.

“Kung tumaas ang mga kaso lalung-lalo na ngayong Kapaskuhan eh ready tayo para alagaan ang ating mga kababayan na magkakasakit (If ever the Covid-19 cases will spike, especially this Christmas season, we are ready to treat those who will be sick),” Dizon added.

Dizon said the move is part of government efforts to improve the country’s capability to isolate more patients away from their communities, as it expects a surge in Covid-19 cases after the holiday season.

Meanwhile, Dizon cited the importance of testing and detection strategies to combat the Covid-19 pandemic.

Since the start of the pandemic, Dizon said more than six million tests have been conducted in the country.

While noting the huge improvement in the country’s testing capacity, Dizon reminded anew the public not to be complacent because the virus is still there.

“Kailangan handa tayo lagi na mag-test para siguraduhin na hindi masyadong dadami ang mga mahahawa ng Covid-19 at hindi ito masyadong lalaganap sa ating communities (We should always be ready to test more, to ensure the Covid-19 infection will not increase too much and it will not further spread in the community),” he said.

He added that the government is ready to address a possible surge in Covid-19 cases.

“Kasi nandiyan pa rin ang [Covid-19] at ready naman tayong i-deploy ang ating mga testing capacity kung kinakailangan (The Covid-19 is still there and we are ready to deploy our testing capacities if necessary),” said Dizon.

Dizon said the government’s Prevent-Detect-Isolate-Treat-Reintegrate (PDITR) strategy provided a significant drop in the number of Covid-19 infected individuals in the middle of July and August.

He also urged the public to continue adhering to the minimum health standards including wearing of face mask and face shield, regular hand washing, as well as observing physical distancing.

While the improvement of the country’s testing capacity is notable, Dizon said there is a need to increase this capacity in some areas of Mindanao that lacked testing laboratories including in the cities of Tagum, Digos, and Bislig in Surigao; Dipolog in Zamboanga del Norte; Valencia in Bukidnon; as well as in Borongan, Samar; Bicol Region, and Sorsogon City.

On the other hand, Dizon cited the vital role of the local government units (LGUs) to effectively slow down the spike of Covid-19 cases in the country.

Apart from the LGUs’ efficient role to contain the Covid-19 cases in their own localities, Dizon said the LGUs could also be an effective partner of the national government once the Covid-19 vaccination will roll out in the country.

Dizon reminded the public to keep safe from risks of Covid-19 infection, particularly during the holiday season. (PNA)

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