The Department of the Interior and Local Government-Cordillera Administrative Region (DILG-CAR) ordered on Monday, June 6, the local government units (LGUs) tin the region to implement appropriate measures against the Covid-19 Omicron variant.
These include employing precautionary schemes to ward off the virus and ramping up the vaccination process like applying booster shots to prevent the spike of the Covid-19 Omicron strain, according to DILG Cordillera Regional Director and Regional Inter-Agency Task Force on Covid-19 (RIATF) chairperson Araceli San Jose.
“We are urging our LGUs to strengthen their existing precautionary measures and strategies on the possibility of local transmission of the Covid-9 Omicron variant,’’ she said.
San Jose issued the call based on the Department of Health (DOH) report on the possibility of a fifth wave in South Africa due to an increase in the Covid-19 Omicron variant of concern sublineages BA.4 and BA.5.
In a letter sent by the DOH to DILG Undersecretary for Operations Epimaco Densing III, San Jose said “that the rising cases of Covid-19 in other parts of the world may have an impact on the country's current Covid-19 situation prompting the need for LGUs to strengthen their Covid-19 efforts.’’
San Jose stressed the need for the Local Task Forces against Covid-19 to evaluate and strengthen the continued strict implementation of minimum public health standards (MPHS), even in areas under Alert Level 1.
"Our Cordillera LGUs should also establish, augment, and preposition systems, equipment, and personnel for referral, emergency, and possible surge response and encourage adoption of related measures such as ventilation by private business within jurisdiction," San Jose said.
The DILG Cordillera chief also emphasized the importance of the LGUs strengthening their surveillance activities and reporting to the DOH Regional Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit any rapid increases in cases or hospitalization observed in their areas.
The DILG-Cordillera being the co-chair of the regional vaccination operations center has urged the LGUs and the public to continue supporting the vaccination program of the national government.
In CODE Team Roadshow held on March 11, 2022 in the region, the national government together with DILG, Office of Civil Defense, and DOH-Cordillera regional executives urged the local chief executives (LCEs) and other functionaries to persuade their constituents that vaccines are both safe and effective, and that prioritizing public safety and health is a must.
Based on the DOH Regional Covid-19 Case Bulletin, 79.19 percent of the 80 percent target population in the region are fully vaccinated with 90.06 percent coverage of the target A2 population translating to 1,173,465 fully vaccinated individuals and 290,340 receiving booster/additional doses of vaccines as of May 11, 2022. (Chito A. Chavez)