By Ellson Quismorio
Davao City 1st district Rep. Paolo Duterte is already preparing his constituents for the "new normal" that must be observed if and when the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) in the region is lifted.
Davao City Rep. Paolo “Pulong” Duterte (KEITH BACONGCO / MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO)
This, after the presidential son provided for the set-up of three epidemic prevention stations, his office bared in a statement.
These stations are 360-degree sanitizing cubicles fitted with temperature scanners. They are designed to automatically detect persons with fever.
“These stations will be posted in public terminals and the airport. We are already preparing our city to be ready upon the lifting of the community quarantine," said Duterte, who is a Deputy Speaker in the current 18th Congress.
"We know that once it has been lifted, we still cannot go back to our ‘normal’ lives. The threat is still there so we have to be organized to ease the worry of our constituents,” he added.
The ECQ over the Davao region--implemented as a way to help slow down the spread of the new coronavirus that causes the dreaded COVID-19 acute respiratory illness--is expected to be lifted on April 26.
Aside from helping establish epidemic prevention stations, Duterte has also been busy sourcing face masks and portable temperature scanners for those who need them.
As per his office, the House leader has so far donated two million face masks and one thousand scanners to Davao provinces and barangays.
It said that each of the 182 barangays in Davao City will receive 2,000 face masks and two scanners. Meanwhile, each of the provinces in the Davao Region (Davao Occidental, Davao del Sur, Davao Del Norte, Davao de Oro, and Davao Oriental) will receive 150,000 face masks and 90 scanners.
“It is important that we are equipped to overcome this crisis. We are extending our assistance beyond Davao City. We recognize that to effectively contain the spread of COVID-19, we have to help our neighbor provinces in this fight," Duterte said.
"We are intensifying our efforts, closely coordinating with stakeholders on how we could further reach more beneficiaries in different regions,” he noted.