PREPARED. Davao City Health Office chief, Dr. Ashley Lopez, says Friday (Sept. 9, 2022) the local government has partnered with the Overseas Workers Welfare Authority and Bureau of Quarantine to conduct a thorough inspection of travelers from overseas due to the monkeypox virus. The coordination with the two agencies was established since last month, he says, as health authorities detected several monkeypox cases in the National Capital Region. (PNA File Photo)
DAVAO CITY – The City Health Office (CHO) has partnered with the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) and the Bureau of Quarantine (BOQ) for a coordinated response against the possible entry of monkeypox here.
CHO chief, Dr. Ashley Lopez, said OWWA and BOC have been tasked with monitoring travelers coming from outside the country to this city, citing that the coordination has been set up since last month.
“We have established a health protocol already just in case, and we have been coordinating with the BOQ and OWWA because travelers from outside the country are being well monitored,” Lopez said in a press briefing on Friday.
Lopez noted that while there are four confirmed monkeypox cases in the National Capital Region (NCR), no such cases reported yet in the Visayas and Mindanao.
The city, he assured, is equipped with facilities that could handle monkeypox cases.
“We have prepared an isolation facility intended only for monkeypox and right now we are intensifying our information and education campaign with the conduct of training for both government and non-government constituents,” the CHO chief said.
Last week, he said a patient at the Southern Philippines Medical Center here was suspected to be infected with monkeypox and went through isolation.
The patient tested negative for the disease. (PNA)
