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The Department of Health (DOH) said on Monday that indoor and enclosed spaces should have adequate ventilation and more exhaust fans to prevent transmission of Covid-19.
The Undersecretary of Health María Rosario Vergeire said that the Departmental Memorandum (DM) 2020-0429 was issued to address possible administrative and engineering controls by encouraging ventilation to mitigate Covid-19.
“In comfort rooms, there should be exhaust fans and these should be kept open continuously as much as possible,” Vergeire said in an online media forum.
Vergeire advised people who use cars to use natural ventilation and open the windows.
“Avoid using the recirculated air option for car ventilation during passenger transport,” he added.
The DM stated: “However, the Department, in its efforts to continually update current non-pharmaceutical interventions against the disease, has developed this interim document to discuss ventilation, administrative and engineering controls and their role in reducing the viral transmission in this pandemic. “
Engineering controls, in accordance with DOH, are installed in spaces in order to separate people from potential pathogens and minimize transmission into the environment.
“Managers, employers, public building owners and homeowners can use these engineering and administrative controls to improve ventilation in their respective spaces, as they see fit. However, it should be noted that ventilation improvements are space specific, ”added the DM.
When conducting activities, DOH encouraged the use of outdoor spaces.
“When an activity cannot be moved to an outdoor environment, opening windows and doors should be implemented to facilitate the flow of outside air into the space, when possible,” he added.
COVID-19 cases
At 4 p.m. on October 12, the DOH reported that the total number of Covid-19 cases increased to 342,816.
Of the confirmed cases, 43,332 (12.6 percent) are active cases, 293,152 (85.5 percent) have recovered, and 6,332 (1.8 percent) have died.
A total of 3,564 newly confirmed cases were recorded. There were 150 recoveries and 11 deaths.
The main regions with cases in the last two weeks were the National Capital Region (1,163 or 36 percent), Region 4A (786 or 25 percent) and Region 6 (347 or 11 percent).
