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- Davao City to hike Covid-19 testing
- Davao receives 7,200 additional Sinovac vaccines
- 1,800 Davao City workers to undergo random drug testing
| Davao City to hike Covid-19 testing Posted: 30 Mar 2021 04:42 AM PDT THE Davao City Government plans to increase its Covid-19 testing capacity to at least about 1,000 specimens a day. Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio said in a radio interview on Monday, March 29, that the city's health response clusters were instructed to increase their testing quantity from the average 400 to 700 tests per day. "Kalakip anang instruction nga dapat i-increase ang testing so that paspas makit-an kung asa ang (Part of the instruction is the need to increase the testing so we could immediately trace the cases of) Covid-19," Duterte-Carpio said in an interview on 87.5 FM Davao City Disaster Radio. The mayor said the health response clusters assured ample reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test kits to meet the demand for increased testing quantity. She said this is in line with her recently issued Executive Order (EO) 18, which orders for the "heightened surveillance and response" for the Covid-19 cases in the city. According to the EO, "there is a need to recalibrate strategies to prevent and control Covid-19 transmission" in the city due to the surge of cases in Metro Manila and other areas in the country, and the emergence of new Covid-19 variants. Part of the city's strategies, the mayor said, is to intensify the monitoring of its communities for those with influenza-like illness (ILI) symptoms. The World Health Organization (WHO) defined ILI as an acute respiratory infection with the following: a measured fever of more than or equal to 38 degrees, cough, and with onset within the last 10 days. Section 2 of the EO states that there will be an establishment of "ILI and swab corner" in all district health centers. Individuals who have ILI symptoms must be immediately referred to district swab centers or to swab sites, if not yet available. Those who have closed contact with ILI patients must be monitored for signs and symptoms of ILI or Covid-19. Once they manifest signs and symptoms, they must immediately be swabbed. Section 3 of the EO mandates all contact tracers, barangay health workers (BHWs), and barangay health emergency response teams (BHERTs) to refer for swabbing those found with ILI or Covid-19 signs and symptoms to the nearest district health centers or Sta. Ana Health Center. In addition, children and adults with ILI symptoms shall undergo Covid-19 RT-PCR testing. While waiting for their test result, they are required to undergo mandatory home quarantine. Individuals with ILI symptoms who have tested negative can only be released from home quarantine once they become asymptomatic, except, if they need to work or do business. The health response clusters are also ordered to make a regular schedule of surveillance swabbing in high-risk areas without implementing the mandatory home quarantine post-swabbing such as but not limited to: business and commercial establishments (i.e. business process outsourcing, banks, restaurants, etc.); public places (i.e. wet markers, supermarkets, stores, etc.); and government offices. Also included are private offices and agencies (i.e. recruitment agencies, etc.); closed facilities (i.e. Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP), Bahay Pag-asa, home for the aged, orphanage, etc.); and other barangays and areas deemed high risk by the City Health Office. The mayor said the city is more prepared in case they would be able to catch more positive individuals in the community as they have prepared different facilities, including a hotel-type for paying patients. "Ngano ginakuha nato ang mga tao is para dili na siya makatakod og laing tao ug aron dili na mukatag ang sakit ug cases (We have to continue to detect those who are positive for Covid-19 so that they won't be able to infect others and causes case surge)," Duterte-Carpio said. She also allayed the fears of the public who get tested for Covid-19, saying that in case they will be yielded positive for coronavirus, they will not be treated as prisoners because they will just be taken from their residences to the hospitals or treatment facilities for them to recover.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Davao receives 7,200 additional Sinovac vaccines Posted: 30 Mar 2021 04:41 AM PDT AN ADDITIONAL 7,200 doses of Sinovac's CoronaVac Covid-19 vaccines intended for remaining healthcare workers in Davao Region arrived on Tuesday morning, March 30. The vaccines arrived on a commercial flight at the Francisco Bangoy International Airport, also known as Davao International Airport. Department of Health-Davao Region (DOH-Davao) Director Annabelle Yumang, who was present during the arrival, said the additional doses are intended for medical frontliners who were not able to be inoculated with the initial Sinovac and AstraZeneca vaccines. This is on top of the 36,800 doses of Sinovac and AstraZeneca allocated by the National Government to the region. Yumang clarified, however, that the 7,200 additional doses come from the 400,000 donated CoronaVac vaccines from the Chinese government to the Philippines that arrived in the previous weeks and not part of the one million doses procured by the National Government that arrived on Monday, March 29. She said the allotted vaccines will be distributed to all provinces in the region. She also said there are some parts of the region that have yet to use up all their remaining doses. As of March 29, the health official said 98 percent out of the 36,800 vaccines were already administered. She said some of those inoculated with the vaccine experienced mild side effects, while some were admitted due to hypersensitivity reactions, but have already recovered. Yumang said the region is expecting to receive additional doses to cater to remaining healthcare workers belonging to Group A1 who have not yet received the vaccine. But she said they are still uncertain how many doses and what brand will be delivered to the region in the coming weeks. According to the issued DOH Department Memorandum 2021-0099 on February 23, 2021, providing the Interim Guidelines for the Implementation of the National Vaccine Development Plan for Covid-19, Priority Group A1 includes frontline workers in health facilities both national and local, private and public, health professionals and non-professionals like students in health and allied professions courses with clinical responsibilities, nursing aides, janitors, barangay health workers, etc. She said once all A1 groups will be vaccinated, the A2 or senior citizens will be vaccinated immediately, depending on the availability of the supply and brand. But Yumag said the DOH is still not recommending the inoculation of the CoronaVac vaccines to seniors. As of now, the vaccines can only be administered to ages 18 to 59 years old. Meanwhile, she said they are continuously preparing for the listing of senior citizens. "Kinahanglan ang mga senior citizens, muadto na sa ilang tagsa-tagsang health centers aron sila mapalista (Seniors must go to their nearest health centers to enlist)," Yumang said. She also said that health workers can also conduct the listing through house-to-house, depending on their strategy, considering some seniors can no longer endure walking or leaving their houses due to their condition. "Kinahanglan gyud nga naay pamaagi nga mapalista atong mga (They should find ways to enlist our) senior citizens," she said.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| 1,800 Davao City workers to undergo random drug testing Posted: 30 Mar 2021 04:40 AM PDT AS PART of the city's drug-free workplace program, some 1,800 Davao City workers, including elected officials, will be the subject of the first batch of random drug testing starting April this year. City Anti-Drug Abuse Council (Cadac) Operations Head Ronald Rivera said they will be starting the random drug testing to appointed and elected officials. "We are aiming to randomly select 10-percent of the 16,000 employees," Rivera said. He said the selection will be made throughout the year. He said they will start the selection weekly through electronic selection. The Human Resource Management Office (HRMO) will be tasked to conduct the random selection to be made without prior notice or information of the latter. The Cadac official said this is in compliance with Executive Order (EO) Number 24 series in 2010, issued by Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio. The EO states the City Government adopts a strict "anti-drug" policy in workplaces. "The drug free workplace should be in place sa atong (in our) city government to ensure that nobody is into drugs. Kung naa puy (If someone is) found to be with the disease [drug addiction], dapat pud ni sila tagaan og panahon para ilahang matambalan ilahang (they should be given time to recover from their) condition," he said. Those who will manifest behavioral deviancy, such as consistent absences, incontrolable debts, or other behavioral misconduct, could also be selected in the drug testing. He said the EO mandates all employees to be subjected under drug testing as required by Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002. Rivera said the order covers all permanent or regular, whether in the career or non-career service, temporary casual, part-time, and contractual and consultancy basis workers, whether or not they receive compensation, regardless of amount. The drug test, he said, will be conducted at the Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC). According to the EO, regular employees who will be yielded positive after the confirmatory test will be charged by the committee with an administrative disciplinary action, and termination, in accordance with the Civil Service law and other applicable laws, rules and regulations. "But since the city is into bringing in treatment for people with addiction, so it will now be the decision of the committee," Rivera said. However, for those workers under contracts and job orders will be immediately terminated after a positive confirmatory test result. Rivera said the testing will be shouldered by the City Government. The executive order has not been immediately implemented due to some amendments made by the assessment committee.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
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