THE Office of the Civil Defense (OCD)–Cordillera started to distribute personal protective equipment (PPE) to hospitals in Baguio City and Benguet Province to help protect frontline workers from the threat of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19).
Karlo Tabisaura, information officer of OCD-CAR, said the Department of Health (DOH) ordered the distribution after receiving the PPEs from donors.
“Six health facilities classified as level II hospitals will be the initial beneficiaries of this first batch of PPE’s in the coming days. Batches of deliveries will be done for other hospital beneficiaries for the city and Benguet Province,” Tabisaura said.
Norte Dame, Pines City, Lutheran, Baguio Medical Center, and the Lepanto Hospital were the initial beneficiaries of the 6,000 boxes of PPEs consisting of coveralls and face masks with one box containing 200 pieces each.
“Although there is no fixed frequency on the schedule of deliveries for PPE’s, we are expecting the deliveries will be done at the speediest time. The Office of the Civil Defense has been tasked to be the facilitators for the distribution of these personal protective equipment and we are expecting BGHMC to be the next recipient within the coming days,” Tabisaura added.
DOH started working with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), industry associations, and private firms to locally manufacture personal protective equipment (PPEs), aside from tapping the Confederation of Wearable Exporters of the Philippines (CONWEP), a group of Philippine-based firms exporting garments for top global brands, to start the local production of 10,000 PPE coveralls daily.
DOH and the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) approved the design prototype for the PPEs, while CONWEP has secured a supplier for the raw materials, such as face hoodies and elastic bands that are certified to have met international standards for waterproofing and resistance to contaminants.
This is to ensure that the PPEs produced will be of “medical grade” and meet prescribed specifications for appropriate safety and protection.
The health department is hoping CONWEP is able to import PPE parts that have fabric import certificates from an international accreditation firm.
DOH adds it also expects the country will be better equipped to meet increased local demand for PPEs and more effectively protect health care workers and other frontliners.