The provincial government of Pampanga reiterated policies and protocols that should be followed by municipal and city governments amid the new surge in COVID-19 cases.
During a meeting with mayors and hospital chiefs, Governor Dennis Pineda said the province will prioritize the pediatric population and senior citizens who are COVID-positive in terms of admission to government hospitals.
“Now, when adults take medicines, they start to feel better. That is why right now, we will give priority to pediatrics because we are having a hard time with children below five years old. Sometimes, they cannot tell exactly what and how they feel,” he said.
As the daily cases average to 400, Pineda appeals to mayors to reactivate their respective quarantine facilities.
“At the rate we are going, we need additional facilities. Once the facilities in your cities and municipalities are full, let us follow what we talked about regarding home quarantine. Once a member of the household tested positive and will be on home quarantine, all the members of that residence should also be on quarantine for a period of 10 days. For healthcare workers, this is shortened to five days because we need them to render duty,” he said.
To arrest further transmission of the virus, the provincial government pushes for barangay roll-out of the Covid-19 vaccination program.
He urged mayors to strategize on how to ensure that all their constituents will be vaccinated, especially those who belong to the vulnerable population by bringing the vaccines closer to the barangays.
“The provincial government and Department of Health will support vaccination at the barangay level. Barangay captains just need to inform us or their respective rural health units so that we can augment in terms of vaccine supplies, logistics, and personnel,” Pineda said.
Aside from this, he also reminded the barangays to limit the mobility of unvaccinated individuals by strictly implementing the “no vaccine, no entry” policy in their jurisdiction, as well as advise children to stay at home.
The governor also assured that the provincial government will procure additional medicines and antibiotics for Covid-positive Kapampangans.
Aside from the adult population, the province is now coordinating with health professionals in the preparation and distribution of medicines for pediatric patients.
He also appealed to incumbent officials to avoid campaigning and focus first on implementing regular programs.
“We solicit the support of barangay officials and police personnel to tighten the implementation of guidelines issued by Department of the Interior and Local Government on pre-campaign activities to prevent mass gatherings that may cause further spread of the virus,” the governor said.
Pampanga is now under high risk classification with the continuous increase of COVID-19 cases. (PIA-3)
