A Cebu-based health group said that the implementation of the enhanced community quarantine here is not enough to prevent the spread of COVID-19. | CDND File Photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Cebu chapter of the Coalition for People’s Right to Health has called on the government to intensify case finding for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) through mass testing in “at-risk communities.”
In an e-mailed press statement, CPRH said the number of cases presently recorded in Central Visayas may not reflect the actual health situation “because only selected people are tested for COVID-19.”
“Mass testing is necessary to isolate patients and prevent other people from being exposed to the highly contagious viral disease,” CPHR said.
CPHR lamented that the test results for some patients were not known until they succumb to the illness.
At present, the Department of Health in Central Visayas has already reported a total of 30 cases in Central Visayas: 20 from Cebu City, four from Negros Oriental, two from Lapu-Lapu City, one each in Mandaue City, Talisay City, and Cordova, and the Chinese patient in Bohol who was already discharged in January yet.
“We also call on the government to fully implement and enhance disease surveillance such as contact tracing, sentinel testing and active case-finding through mass testing in affected or at risk communities with reported cases,” CPHR said.
“Lockdowns and social distancing measures, staying at home and personal hygiene on their own, are not enough. The World Health Organization has actively called for all countries to take a comprehensive approach and the most effective way to prevent infections and save lives is (by) breaking the chains of transmission. And to do that, countries must test, test and test, in order to isolate,” CPHR said.
The CPHR also called for quarantine facilities to be available in the barangay levels for indigent patients in order to prevent them from infecting their loved ones in case they contract the virus. /dcb