AUTHORITIES from the Provincial Health Office (PHO) and Medina's Rural Health Unit (RHU) are calling on the residents to boil the water for at least 15 minutes before cool down for consumption, following the diarrhea outbreak in Medina town last July 7.
Misamis Oriental Information Officer Nicole Managbanag said that PHO and Medina town's RHU are strictly advising its citizens to refrain from drinking water directly from their faucets.
Managbanag said the PHO clarified that though the outbreak was an isolated case, the strong cooperation of the residents is highly appreciated.
Medina's RHU is also handing out free bottled drinking water to the residents.
Dr. Maria Alma Enriquez, Medina Rural Health Physician, said that Medina's residents should be more vigilant about the water that they consume. Aside from heating their drinking water, Enriquez said that a lot of other precautionary measures should also be noted.
"Dapat ugaliin talaga nila na maghugas ng kamay after using the toilet and before eating. They should also make sure to use clean water sa pag-prepare ng pagkain nila. (They should make sure to wash their hands before using the toilet and before eating. They should also make sure to use clean water when preparing their food)," Enriquez said.
She added that the local government unit and the RHU have already coordinated with the local office of the Department of Education (DepEd) to implement information drives and specialized lectures for their students about the importance of proper hand washing and responsible inspection of their food and water.
"The schools are also now controlling or advising their students to not buy ice water, ice candies, or ice from the nearby vendors in their schools for safety purposes," she said.
The Misamis Oriental Care System (MisOrCareS) has already augmented the existing stocks of medicines at the province-owned hospitals and rural health units in nearby municipalities to ensure treatment of patients.
"We have tripled already our medicines in our hospitals and RHUs to intervene on the situation. We also ask the public to coordinate with our people in Medina or in the hospitals where they are treated so we would be able to help," Maryden Ocot, MisOrCareS Head said.
Last week, the Regional office of the Department of Health has already taken samples of the water sourced from Medina Rural Water Works Sanitation Cooperative the municipality's water source.
PHO said the result is expected to be released on Monday, July 10.
Jerie Calisangan of PHO said that the release of the result will inform them if the diarrhea outbreak is caused by a bacteria or a virus.