THE City government of San Fernando is containing the spread of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) through Kahon ng Buhay (Square of life).
"Under this initiative, we box in and protect San Fernando by cornering Covid-19 with testing, isolation, surveillance and treatment," Mayor Edwin Santiago said during Monday's episode of Network Briefing News on Radyo Pilipinas that was hosted by Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Martin Andanar.
Days after the city was placed under enhanced community quarantine, the City Health Office (CHO) mobilized its health workers to conduct house-to-house mapping.
This was done by interviewing each household in all barangays to determine their health condition and travel history.
"This led the city to acquire the needed data. We became one of the few cities in the Philippines to post accurate and credible number of cases in their area," Santiago added.
San Fernando opened last April 16 its Central Screening Facilities that provide medical assistance to Fernandinos, in light with its ongoing drive in combatting the disease.
"These facilities are providing free medical consultation and X-ray procedures to residents through the joint efforts of CHO, Department of Health (DOH) Region 3 and a private radiology firm," Santiago said.
The city is also properly handling probable and suspect cases of Covid-19 by isolating them in the civic center -- a DOH accredited facility.
"This is my quick response to the national government's call to local chief executives to identify government facilities that may be converted into temporary isolation and quarantine facilities," he said.
Originally built to be used for other government services, the civic center's buildings have been converted into isolation facilities to provide healthcare to probable and suspect cases and the medical workers who attend to them including free medication, food and laundry services.
"These are just the preparations of the city as it goes beyond and seeks for a long-term strategy, which is a partnership with a private hospital for massive testing," Santiago added.
On April 14, the City Government signed a Memorandum of Agreement with Green City Medical Center for the massive testing.
On May 20, DOH-Central Luzon conducted its final physical inspection of the laboratory. The following day, Research Institute for Tropical Medicine visited the institution for the proficiency examination of the staff who will be administering the tests.
"We expect to get the License to Operate from DOH by last week of May," Santiago said. (PIA)