The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) reiterated its support to pandemic response efforts of the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) as the country’s coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases breached the 1-million mark on Monday, April 26.
IFRC, in a statement, said that it has released 4.9 million Swiss francs from its Global Emergency Appeal to support the PRC as it intensifies tracing, testing and treatment of people with COVID-19.
“Since early in the pandemic, the Philippine Red Cross has helped ease the social and economic burden by providing cash transfers to thousands of families, along with food packs and hot meals,” IFRC said.
“Over 2.5 million COVID-19 tests have been conducted and millions of people reached with life-saving information,” IFRC said. “Red Cross is aiming to vaccinate 1 million most at-risk people,” it added.
READ:
https://mb.com.ph/2021/04/15/ph-red-cross-conducts-over-2-5-million-covid-19-testing-nationwide/
Meanwhile, Paula Fitzgerald, Head of IFRC’s Philippines Delegation, expressed optimism that people can get through the crisis by working together.
“Extraordinary events require extraordinary and urgent action to save lives as this disease continues to spread out of control,” Fitzgerald said. “Every effort needs to be made to care for the sick, contain this huge COVID-19 surge and ramp up life-saving vaccines for vulnerable people in the coming days and weeks,” she added.
Weeks before the Philippines officially breached the one million mark of confirmed total COVID-19 cases, hospitals have been “overwhelmed” with the number of patients that need medical attention.
PRC Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Senator Richard Gordon said urgent extra medical care is a matter of life and death as this pandemic sets alarming new records.
“Our volunteers are working day and night, but we urgently need more medical volunteers to assist COVID-19 patients in emergency field hospitals and quarantine facilities,” Gordon said.
Gordon also issued a plea to the people of the Philippines to help bring this virus under control. “We are seeking medical volunteers to also help speed up delivery of vaccines to the most at-risk groups, including migrant workers and older people,” he added.
READ:
https://mb.com.ph/2021/04/24/title-75/
Surges of COVID-19 nationwide have placed hospitals and the healthcare system - as a whole - “under siege.” Recognizing, the PRC has been setting up Emergency Field Hospitals (EFHs), quarantine facilities and scaling up existing testing laboratories, public information campaigns and other relief activities.
READ:
https://mb.com.ph/2021/04/19/9-emergency-field-hospitals-set-up-by-ph-red-cross-at-lung-center/
As hospitals reach capacity in some areas, PRC has set up emergency field hospital tents as extension wards for COVID-19 patients with moderate symptoms, freeing up beds for very sick people.
READ:
https://mb.com.ph/2021/04/24/title-80/
The tents are pitched in the hospital grounds, so patients have access to doctors and medical care. Volunteer medics are providing health and other care to patients.
Meanwhile, PRC also tapped schools and turned their unused classrooms and buildings as quarantine facilities to care for people who have contracted COVID-19 with mild symptoms until they can safely return to their homes.
READ:
https://mb.com.ph/2021/04/08/ateneo-up-la-salle-tapped-for-addl-covid-19-isolation-centers-by-ph-red-cross/
These new health facilities are staffed with teams of health volunteers and necessary medical equipment. Gordon said that PRC has been coordinating with local executives and heads of schools to put up more COVID-19 facilities in their respective areas.
READ:
https://mb.com.ph/2021/04/21/ph-red-cross-eyes-to-open-more-isolation-facilities-in-schools-within-outside-ncr/