Gov. Albert Garcia receives donation from general manager Emiliano Pineda of the Authority of the Freeport Area of Bataan. Photo by Ernie Esconde
BALANGA CITY — The provincial government on Friday announced various measures to further strengthen the drive against coronavirus disease that continued to affect the province.
Latest report showed that there are six new confirmed Covid-19 cases in Bataan, the number rising to 125 with six deaths and 53 recoveries.
Gov. Albert Garcia, chair of the provincial inter-agency task force, said the province has not yet attained the “flattening of the curve” in the war against the deadly virus and has to institute different actions.
Of the more than 760,000 people of Bataan, the governor said only 2,245 or less than a percent of the population have been subjected to Covid -19 laboratory exam and therefore the urgent need for mass testing.
He said that mass testing is very important to identify and separate those infected from those who are not.
To attain this, a Covid -19 testing laboratory was established at the compound of the Bataan General Hospital and Medical Center here that, he said, has passed the standards of the World Health Organization and the Department of Health.
Garcia said the lab is only waiting for the negative pressure required by DOH to start the test.
He said that they have also entered into a memorandum of agreement with the Philippine Red Cross for the provision of 1,415 test kits that the provincial government paid for P5 million.
He added that they signed a MOA with the Jose B. Lingad Memorial Regional Hospital in the City of San Fernando, Pampanga for additional lab tests.
He said information on contact tracing will be fast and systematic with the establishment of a Covid-19 command center equipped with IP radios and CCTV cameras on all checkpoints in the province.
These are connected to municipal halls, the Metro Bataan Development Authority and private and public hospitals.
“Dahil dito, mas madali ang pagtukoy sa lahat ng mga dumadaan sa ating mga checkpoints, mas mabilis na komunikasyon, lalo na sa pagdadala ng mga emergency cases (Covid or non–Covid) sa mga ospital,” the governor said.
Related to this, Garcia said they are preparing a mobile application for suspect and probable cases who will undergo home quarantine. This can be downloaded in App Store and Google Play known as GeoTime App.
“Kapag in–install sa cellphone ay may geofencing ito kung saan tukoy ang lugar kung saan mananatili ang naka–quarantine at kapag lumabas siya dito ay magno–notify sa ating mga barangay health emergency response team. Maaari din silang i-check sa kahit anong oras na walang iskedyul gamit ang app na may facial recognition,” the governor said.
The Bataan People’s Center, Bataan Library, and the National Food Authority building were designated as additional quarantine and isolation facilities for probable and suspect cases and those waiting for test result.
