The Department of Health regional office in Palo, Leyte. (PNA file photo)
TACLOBAN CITY – The Department of Health (DOH) regional office here has lauded the Leyte provincial government in its effort to control the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) in the province.
During the inter-agency task force meeting on Friday presided by outgoing Governor Leopoldo Dominico Petilla, DOH Eastern Visayas Regional Director Exuperia Sabalberino said they are pleased to work with the province in battling the coronavirus.
“We went through a lot and we had ups and downs considering the novelty of the virus. We did not know how to best handle and manage the situation, but Leyte had done a really good job,” Sabalberino said during the meeting.
Petilla recalled that in the past three years of dealing with the pandemic, the province has not closed its borders.
The local government just required mandatory testing for all returning residents and those with symptoms of the virus identified as close contacts of an infected person.
“What we did when the pandemic started in 2020 was to keep the damage low, move on, and continue. We gathered more data from the ground to guide us on what to do to address the problem,” Petilla said.
The Leyte provincial health office reported that of the 192,131 individuals tested between March 2020 to June 4, 2022, a total of 22,749 individuals turned positive for Covid-19.
Of the confirmed cases, 22,584 have already recovered, 168 died while there were only two remaining active cases as of June 6.
The governor added that since Covid-19 cases are declining, the local government must focus on improving the economy heavily affected by the pandemic.
Covid-19 vaccination should continue including the inoculations booster shots, according to Petilla.
Of the 1,346,183 target population for vaccination, at least 731,589 residents have already received at least the first dose as of May 24, while 557,642 are already fully vaccinated.
The provincial health office also reported that only 16,368 residents got their booster shots since it was made available in the province last January. (PNA)
