AROUND 300 health workers have been identified by the Mandaue City Health Office to receive the Covid-19 allowance.
Dr. Ligaya Lakambini Dargantes, Emergency Operations Center (EOC) deputy chief and assistant city health officer, told reporters on Thursday, June 24, 2022, that they have already submitted the list of beneficiaries to the Department of Health (DOH) in Central Visayas.
Beneficiaries include EOC workers, health care personnel (public and private), barangay personnel assigned to Covid-related operations, and midwives.
The beneficiaries will undergo evaluation and screening by the DOH 7, such as matching their names with their Philhealth numbers, Dargantes said.
Based on the DOH guidelines, beneficiaries will be categorized based on their risk of exposure to the Covid-19 virus. There will be low risk, medium risk, and high risk.
Low-risk beneficiaries will receive P3,000, medium risk to receive P6,000, and high-risk will get P9,000.
But Dargantes said they could not reveal exactly if the cash assistance would be given monthly or through single payment, as this has to be decided by the DOH.
"We are hoping that it would be given monthly. This is actually a good reward to acknowledge those workers who risk their lives battling the pandemic," said Dargantes.
When asked about her opinion on the Provincial Government's Executive Order 16 allowing the wearing of face masks in open and well-ventilated areas, Dargantes said they would still abide by the guidelines imposed by the DOH and the World Health Organization (WHO).
Dargantes said the DOH and WHO did not give an assurance yet that the Covid vaccines could give 100 percent protection against the virus even without wearing the face mask.
She said Mandaue City is a highly urbanized city and open spaces are limited unlike in the province.
“We even have low turnout of people having their booster shots. We have about 316,000 eligible population to have a booster, but only 69,276 availed themselves of the fourth Covid dose,” she said.
"We cannot afford to have another Covid surge. Face mask is an extra protection. Though we do not say that they (people) really need to wear face masks even in areas where they are allowed to take them off," Dargantes added.