Mandaue councilor: We’re waiting for DOH orders on handling possible monkeypox cases
City Councilor Nerissa Soon Ruiz, chairman of the committee on health, says the city | file photo
MANDAUE CITY, Philippines — Mandaue City will be waiting for instructions from the Department of Health (DOH) about the management of possible monkeypox cases, but the city will be ready for it.
City Councilor Nerissa Soon-Ruiz, chairman of the committee on health, on Monday, August 1, said this after she spoke to Dr. Ligaya Lakambini Dargantes, the assistant city health officer, about possible cases in the city.
Earlier the Department of Health in Central Visayas (DOH-7) has assured the public that Central Visayas has remained free of confirmed monkeypox cases, and the public are encouraged to be more vigilant and follow minimum health standards especially on hygiene.
“Paminawon ta lang gyud unsa mahitabo sa monkeypox. We will be ready,” said Soon-Ruiz.
(We will just wait and see what will happen about this monkeypox. We will be ready.)
She said that the city still had its existing isolation centers, which could be used if ever there would be monkeypox cases in the city, and aside from that, the city also still had contact tracers.
The city’s isolation units are Norkis Park in Barangay Looc and Mandaue City Isolation Center (MCIC) located at the old Cebu Northbus Terminal in Barangay Subangdaku.
Mayor Jonas Cortes said the city might also use the step-down facility across the city hospital if there would be monkeypox cases and the number would increase.
The Department of Health on Friday, July 29 announced that the country has recorded its first case of monkeypox. The case was a 31-year-old Returning Overseas Filipino.
For now, city officials are encouraging residents to maintain social distancing and observe health protocols.
Cortes stressed that cleanliness would be very important to avoid not just monkeypox but also dengue and COVID-19, among others.
“Additional burden ni not just in the part of the city kung di sa atoang mga kaigsuonan. We can play a vital role sa pagsumpo ani’ng maong sakit,” said Cortes.
(This is an additional burden not just in part of the city but also to our brothers and sisters in Mandaue. We can play a vital role in preventing this kind of sickness.)
“Ang infection, ang pagspread mas sayon malikayan kay close contact gyud, skin-to-skin. Dili pareha sa COVID nga laway, airborne. So mas kahibawo ka, so we have to keep social distancing, basic pagpanglimpyo,” said Soon-Ruiz.
(It is easier to avoid the infection because it is acquired through close contact, skin-to-skin. It is not the same as COVID where one can get infected through the saliva, airborne. So you know how to prevent it, so we have to keep social distancing, basic cleaning.)
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