• CHERYL G. CRUZ
The Sangguniang Panlungsod has urged the 61 barangays of Bacolod City June 17 to form their respective barangay health emergency response teams (BHERTs), and to strictly adopt the process flow, guidelines, and protocols for mpox and other infectious diseases.
The SP, in its regular session yesterday, took note of the three resolutions passed by the Local Health Board (LHB) during its meeting June 16, following the confirmation the other day of the first mpox (monkeypox) case in the city.
Each BHERT should be composed of a medical officer, a nurse/midwife, two barangay health workers, a barangay sanitary inspector, and the kagawad, who chairs the Sangguniang Barangay Committee on Health.
“Reactivating the BHERT is deemed vital at the barangay level, as these teams will serve as one of the frontline responders in times of public health emergencies and will play a critical role in promoting health programs and advocacies,” the LHB resolution stressed, adding there is an “urgent need to strengthen the local health response mechanism through the re-establishment of BHERTs” in light of the first confirmed case of mpox.
It is also important to institutionalize “a systematic and responsive process flow that facilitates for early detection, containment, and appropriate treatment of affected individuals” to prevent and control any possible outbreak of mpox and other infectious diseases, the Board stressed.
Meanwhile, as per LHB Resolution 061625-04, or the guidelines and protocols for emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases, “confirmed mpox cases in Bacolod will receive 21 days of food assistance from the local government, provided the patient is under strict isolation at home, a temporary treatment and monitoring facility (TTMF), or a hospital”.
Individuals exhibiting symptoms, such as fever, cough, colds, rash, skin lesions, or diarrhea are advised to stay home and avoid school, work, public transportation, public places, and personal services (such as massage) to prevent potential transmission, it added.
To prevent and control any possible outbreak, all government and private food and non-food establishments, agencies, schools and institutions, offices, seaports and land terminals, and communities under the 61 barangays shall adhere to these guidelines, the resolution stressed.
The Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital said June 15 that it was caring for the first confirmed case of mpox referred from the Bacolod City Health Office June 13.
“The patient is stable and is receiving appropriate care in isolation, and all necessary infection control measures have been implemented in accordance with public health guidelines,” the CLMMRH had said in a statement. | CGC
