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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Virus command, control center proposed

Virus command, control center proposed

Published Aug 5, 2020 05:33 pm

Sen. Richard Gordon on Wednesday said he sees the necessity of putting up a command and control center to manage the rising number of COVID-19 positive cases in the Philippines and prevent the overwhelming of the country’s healthcare system.

Senator Richard Gordon
(Senate of the Philippines / MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO)

Gordon, chairman of the Philippine Red Cross, said the command and control center should be centralized and equipped with a hotline so that people who suspect they are infected can call it first instead of directly going to the hospitals.

“Dapat may command and control center na maga-address ng (There should be a command and control center that will address) referral systems for both public and private (hospitals para) ‘yung capacity nila ay hindi mao-overwhelm),” Gordon said in an interview.

He said doctors or people with medical know-how or training should be tasked to answer queries by callers who think they are exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19.

“Eh, parang kang nagsasalansan diyan, parang meron kang booking, meron kang front desk sa hotel. Dapat may telemed doctor doon para kapag tumawag ‘yung mga tao masasabi sa kanila kung ano ang dapat nilang gawin at saan sila puwedeng magpunta (It’s like having a screening system where you conduct booking, like in a front desk hotel. There must be a tele-medical doctor so that once people call they can immediately advise them on what they should do, where they should go),” the senator pointed out.

He also said the center he is proposing should be ready with the necessary information so they could direct people, who may need to be admitted to hospitals or quarantine facilities, to institutions that could accommodate them.

“Para di masyadong marami nag pupunta sa ospital. Mag-isolate ka muna, kung kaya naman ng home quarantine based sa symptoms na dinisclose (This is to prevent so many people from rushing to the hospital. They can isolate first, if they want to undergo home quarantine based on the symptoms they disclose),” Gordon said.

According to Gordon, they have put up a COVID call center last April and people who have symptoms or who were exposed to carries call up 1158, the PRC’s COVID hotline for queries.

He said ambulances for callers who need to be transported to hospitals are also arranged there, as well as schedule them for testing if needed. The Department of Health (DOH) also has a similar hotline and called on the people to use them.

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