Overcrowded shelters may cause a spike in COVID – DOH

MUDS SOAKED IN MUD Typhoon evacuees return home on Friday to retrieve belongings that could still be useful in Barangay San José, Rodríguez, Rizal province, one of the areas most affected by typhoon “Ulises”. —RICHARD A. REYES

The Department of Health (DOH) warned of a “very strong possibility” that local cases of COVID-19 will increase further due to overcrowding at evacuation centers following the recent attack by Typhoon Ulysses (international name: Vamco).

At a press conference on Friday, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said that “security officials [at the evacuation centers] you should watch closely ”and implement DOH instructions to ensure evacuees follow minimum health guidelines on preventing COVID-19.

These include wearing protective masks, observing physical distancing, and frequent hand washing.

Duque noted that evacuees were generally allowed to return to their homes once the storm had cleared the country.

In school buildings and campus facilities that are used as evacuation sites, it is advisable to have only one family per classroom or tent, he said.

Shelters should also be well ventilated and have separate rooms for high-risk people, Duque said.

In another briefing on Friday, Undersecretary of Health María Rosario Vergeire also sent a reminder to evacuees from Ulysses.

“We must wear our masks at all times,” he said. “We know that it is very difficult to do it in situations like this, but we have to do it. It is through this that we can help prevent infection. “

Local governments should help ensure that evacuees are properly given face masks, adding that wet cloth or surgical masks should be replaced with medical grade masks as they are no longer considered effective against the coronavirus.

The latest data from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) shows that a total of 40,518 families, or 156,995 people, have been affected by Ulises in 648 villages in the Metro Manila, Central Luzon, Calabarzon and Bicol regions.

Of those numbers, 18,818 families, or 70,294 people, were staying at 755 evacuation centers as of Friday.

Ulysses was the 21st storm to hit the country this year, according to the state weather service, which said three more storms could hit the country before the end of the year.

On Friday, DOH recorded 1,902 additional cases of COVID-19 in the country, bringing the national count to 404,713.

STANDING THROUGH A day after Typhoon “Ulysses” swept through their community, these residents of Barangay San José in Rodríguez, Rizal, walk through muddy streets back to their village to retrieve their belongings. Some wear masks, but others may momentarily forget the threat of the coronavirus pandemic that is still in the air. —PHOTOS BY RICHARD A. REYES

Additional cases

Cavite reported the highest number of new infections, 122, followed by Davao City (113), Quezon City (84), Bulacan (81), and Manila (78).

Of the 29 labs that did not submit their data to DOH on time, 22 were “affected by the typhoon.”

An additional 506 patients recovered, bringing the total number of survivors to 362,903.

The death toll, however, rose to 7,752 when 31 patients succumbed to the severe respiratory illness.

Recoveries and deaths left the country with 34,058 active cases, of which 83.9 percent are mild, 9.4 percent asymptomatic, 0.12 percent moderate, 2.3 percent severe, and 4 , 3 percent critical.

In addition to COVID-19, DSWD and DOH are also on guard against the outbreak of other diseases, including leptospirosis, acute gastroenteritis, diarrhea, and acute dermatitis.

Vergeire urged local officials to ensure clean water supplies to keep communities safe from these water-borne diseases.

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What you need to know about the coronavirus.
For more information on COVID-19, call the DOH hotline: (02) 86517800 local 1149/1150.

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