The Cadiz City government has established a medical assistance program that grants financial aid and free hospitalization to its employees–either elective officials, permanent, contractual or job order workers–who have contracted coronavirus disease while performing frontline functions in combatting COVID-19.
This was confirmed today by Cadiz City Mayor Salvador Escalante, Jr., who said that the program that was unanimously approved by the Sangguniang Panlungsod early this week also covers village officials, tanods and barangay health workers.
The Cadiz City government has about 740 employees and 440 barangay-based workers and officials actively involved in the fight versus COVID, SP Member Escalante said.
As of this writing, Mayor Escalante disclosed that as per record of their CHO, 32 frontliners already contracted the virus.
SP Resolution No. 2020-354, authored by City Councilor John Vincent Escalante, said frontliners who tested positive for COVID-19 shall immediately be provided with a cash assistance of P10,000 that is retroactive in application.
In the event that the health condition of the grantee requires hospital confinement as certified by the city health officer or her authorized representative for the purpose of receiving medical intervention for serious or critical cases, the resolution said, the hospital assistance shall not be more than P400,000 or the net amount of the bill after PhilHealth, OSCA or PWD deduction or whichever is lower.
The hospitalization assistance shall be prospective in application, the SP resolution added.
Mranwhile, the Regional Inter-Agency Task Force has extended until Nov. 30 the moratorium on the entry of locally-stranded individuals or LSIs to Cadiz City as requested by Mayor Escalante.
The RIATF also imposed a similar travel suspension of LSIs bound for La Castellana from Nov. 16-21 as requested by Mayor Rhumyla Nicor-Mangilimutan.
Escalante had earlier asked the RIATF for an LSI travel ban in early November until the 15th of this month but said an extension is necessary because of the high cases of infection among frontliners.
Besides, we also need to disinfect, repair and rehabilitate some portions of the quarantine facilities at St. Andrew’s, the mayor said. – ETL
