A total of 40 health facilities across the country were partially damaged by the onslaught of Tropical Cyclone Carina and the Southwest Monsoon or Habagat, the Department of Health (DOH) said Sunday.
DOH Assistant Secretary Albert Domingo said of this number, 18 were barangay health stations, 14 were hospitals, seven were rural health units, and one was a regional office of DOH.
“Umaandar pa sila. Sinasabi lang namin, ito ‘yung nabaha, ‘yung mga medyo napalikas ng onti. Pero dahil ang gagaling ng mga health workers, bumalik kaagad,” he said in a Super Radyo dzBB interview.
(They are still operational. They were just flooded and had to evacuate some personnel. But the health workers are now back.)
On Thursday, DOH Secretary Ted Herbosa reported there were 11 health facilities that sustained partial damage because of the inclement weather.
Despite this, Domingo said that the DOH continues to provide primary care services to people affected by Carina and the Habagat.
He noted that a total of 5,159 consultations of various health concerns were already conducted in evacuation centers.
“Karaniwang mga sakit dito is cough and colds dahil nando’n tayo sa evacuation conditions. Mayroon ding mga nagtatanong o nagpapa-abiso dahil sila ay napalusong sa baha, so para sa ating prophylaxis kontra sa leptospirosis,” Domingo said.
(They consult about common diseases such as cough and colds because we are in evacuation conditions. There are people who also ask about prophylaxis against leptospirosis because they waded through floods.)
Herbosa earlier said that cases of leptospirosis are expected to increase in the coming days as the heavy rains resulted in severe flooding in parts of Luzon.
The National Capital Region (NCR), Ilocos Region, Calabarzon, and Central Luzon are currently under Code Blue due to the aftermath of Carina and the Habagat.
Under code blue, the second highest alert, there is a 50% agency resource mobilization, meaning teams are mobilized to augment existing regular day-to-day resources, and to tend to affected areas or to treat patients.
DOH’s Incident Command System is also activated and a coordinative meeting with health clusters is conducted. Coordination with the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) is also signaled for this alert. —KG, GMA Integrated News
