Barangays must use existing census to classify ''at-risk'' individuals
Interior Secretary Eduardo Año on Thursday said barangay officials must use their existing census data to classify "at-risk" individuals and to prioritize contact tracing for those who were in close contact with the reported cases of COVID-19.
Due to the increased demand for testing, Año said first priority will be given to in patients, including medical professionals and health workers who show severe to critical symptoms of COVID-19, who have known travel history or who have been in touch with a confirmed patient.
“In the second priority are medical professionals and health care workers with mild symptoms and known exposure to a positive patient; and patients with mild symptoms of COVID-19 who are identified as high-risk with pre-existing medical conditions and/or are members of vulnerable groups (senior citizen, a pregnant woman with co-morbidities) and with known travel history or contact with a positive patient,” he said.
“The third priority includes all asymptomatic medical professionals and health workers but with known exposure to a positive patient, and all asymptomatic patients with known travel history or contact to a positive patient,” he added.
Año said the closest Local Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit (LESU) in the area is mainly responsible for swabbing and gathering specimens and local health units shall provide them with the required technical and logistical support during the collection of samples.
Año added local government units are also responsible for continuing contact tracing of those in touch with positive patients, maintaining strict adherence to self-quarantine and monitoring the status of positive cases, PUIs and PUMs.
“DOH (Department of Health) is together witl LGUs and local Philippine National Police and Bureau of Fire and Protection in implementing an organized and systemized COVID-19 testing in their locality,” he said
He said the expanded testing is crucial to implement the National Strategy to Defeat COVID summarized as Detect, Isolate, Treat, and Reintegrate those that have been infected by the pandemic disease.
In Memorandum Circular 2020-073, Año said LGUs will increase the number of their trained Contact Tracing Teams (CTTs) who shall identify and monitor suspected persons with known exposure and contact to confirmed COVID-19 cases to mitigate the possibility of contagion.
“The role of CCT is important in decreasing the number of COVID-19 cases in the country... The identification and isolation of those who had contact with COVID-19 patients and curing those who are positive depends on them,” he said.
In the same directive, Año also said LGUs are expected to ensure functionality of their Ligtas COVID-19 Center or Community Quarantine Facility by ensuring a conducive environment for recovery, and with adequate medical personnel, facilities and medicines for the patients.
According to Año, all LGUs are required to submit a status report to the city or municipal COVID-19 Task Force which will send a regular action report to the provincial and regional task forces at 2 pm covering the time from noon on the previous day to noon on the same day.
“The report should include the number of confirmed cases, how many trained staff for contact tracing, how many contact tracing was conducted, number of PUIs identified, isolated, and tested, how many Ligtas COVID-19 Center were established either by the LGUs or the national government, number of available PPEs, and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test kits,” he said.
DILG urged LGUs to ensure proper reporting of actual cases in their respective areas.
Among the new testing centers are St. Luke’s Quezon City and Bonifacio Global City; V. Luna Hospital in Quezon City; Medical City in Pasig City; The Makati Medical Center; and the Molecular Diagnostic Laboratory. Ella Dionisio/DMS
