MEETING. Governor Dennis “Delta” Pineda attends a discussion with other members of the Coordinated Operations to Defeat Epidemic CODE Team, National Task Force against COVID-19 (NTF COVID-19), Central Luzon local government and health officials, and other stakeholders at Quest Hotel, Clark Freeport.
CLARK FREEPORT ZONE — Pampanga Governor Dennis “Delta” Pineda has committed to continue enforcing COVID-19 protocols as the National Task Force against COVID-19 called on local government units and the private sector to harmonize efforts.
Sec. Carlito Galvez Jr., National Action Plan against COVID-19 chief implementer, said the CODE (Coordinated Operations to Defeat Epidemic) is done to “balance the economy and public health.”
As of September 9, the Department of Health in Central Luzon has reported 7,735 total confirmed cases in the region. At least 1,175 of these are active cases. Pampanga, with 1,581 confirmed cases, ranked second to Bulacan, which has 3,676 confirmed cases.
Governor Pineda said the provincial government and LGUs are quick in getting infected persons at the village-level, isolating them and helping treat them.
“While those are being done, we also put up additional isolation facilities to be able to accommodate more infected persons. We cannot afford to shut down the economy while we manage this public health problem. We deal with these at the same time,” the governor explained after the CODE conference.
Governor Pineda also advised business establishments to strictly comply with the protocols imposed by DOH.
“We have agreed that once an incident of infection is confirmed, the owner must immediately close the establishment for disinfection and make workers undergo swab tests. That is the protocol that must be followed,” he said, adding that hospitals must set aside 30 percent of bed capacity for COVID-19 cases.
Vivencio Dizon, Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) president and COVID-19 chief testing czar, said the government will soon require individuals going to different local tourist destinations to take antigen test.
According to Dizon, antigen test yields fast results.
“Bakit antigen test at hindi RT-PCR (reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction)? Gagamitin natin ang antigen, dahil ito ay may mabilis na resulta. At siyempre, sa ating efforts na muling buksan ang ekonomiya, kailangan gamitin natin ‘yung mga makabagong test na hindi lang mabilis kundi accurate din,” Dizon said. — Jasmine Jaso/Pampanga PIO
