The City Health Office is closely coordinating with the Overseas Workers Welfare Authority (OWWA) and the Bureau of Quarantine to monitor travelers from outside the country.
Davao City Health Office Head Dr. Ashley Lopez, during the I-Speak Media forum held on Thursday (September 8, 2022), said the close coordination is part of the preparedness and response plan against monkeypox, which was set up a month ago.
“We have established a health protocol already just in case, and we have been coordinating with the BOQ and OWWA kay kadtong atong mga travelers particularly from outside the country are being well monitored (We have established a health protocol already just in case, and we have been coordinating with the BOQ and OWWA because travelers from outside the country are being well monitored),” he said.
Lopez said that while there are four confirmed cases in the National Capital Region (NCR), there is no confirmed monkeypox case yet in the Visayas and Mindanao.
He said that the city is equipped with facilities that could tackle monkeypox cases here.
“We have prepared an isolation facility intended only for monkeypox and right now we are intensifying our IEC with the conduct of training for both government and non-government constituents,” Lopez said.
He reported that a suspected Monkeypox patient – a middle-aged male – was sent to Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC) for isolation last week. The patient manifested symptoms akin to that of monkeypox. However, the Reverse Transmission Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) Test results of the patient revealed that he is negative for monkeypox. CIO
