Culture of protection and prevention urged
There are five active Covid-19 cases, head of the Health Services Office – City Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit (HSO-CESU) Dr. Donnabel Tubera-Panes disclosed in a media forum at city hall last week.
Thus, precautionary measures against Covid-19 should still be done, including wearing of face masks, frequent handwashing and social distancing, if possible. Face masks are needed especially in crowded places and risk areas such as hospitals, despite government orders dropping its use.
New batches of vaccines are also awaited, Dr. Panes said.
A culture of protection and prevention is needed as the virus is still much in circulation especially with the opening of classes, face-to-face group activities and leisure venues, Dr. Panes added.
Since the start of the pandemic, there have been 47,145 cases and 932 direct Covid deaths, Panes further said. More deaths were listed as to the effect of the pandemic including self-inflicted harm, due to anxiety and depression.
As of now, the Covid Arcturus subtype is dominant but can be detected in hospital tests.
The symptoms for Covid may include, fever/chills, cough, difficulty in breathing, fatigue, body pains and headache.
Symptomatics, especially those below 12 y/o are advised to stay home from school so as to clear hospital beds as displacement may go up to 80%, at the same time save work hour costs for the watcher. This is backed by scientific reports, Dr. Panes said.
Know your risks and undergo screening procedures from health facilities, Dr. Panes further said.
In addition, schools have reported cases of conjunctivitis, or sore eyes in the months of September and October. Frequent handwashing is advised. ** JGF, with reports from HSO – CESU
