DOH to distribute COVID-19 home care kits to vulnerable population
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health said Tuesday it will provide COVID-19 care kits to vulnerable individuals who are isolating or quarantining at home.
The move to distribute COVID-19 home care kits comes nearly two years into the pandemic that has so far killed 52,929 people in the Philippines.
In a briefing, DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the home care kits—called “Kalinga” kits—will be distributed as soon as possible. The agency is currently drafting guidelines on how to implement the program.
According to Vergeire, the provision of kits was made possible through partnerships with pharmaceutical company Unilab, multinational consumer goods company Procter & Gamble and the World Health Organization.
So what's inside a ‘Kalinga’ kit?
- 10 pieces of paracetamol
- 10 pieces of vitamin c
- 10 pieces of carbocisteine
- 20 pieces of face masks
- Two bars of soap
- One alcogel
- One disinfectant spray
- One tip sheet
Vergeire said the department will “continuously upgrade” the “Kalinga” home care kit “as more of our donors and private sector partners will come in and collaborate with us.”
Since April last year, the Office of Vice President Leni Robredo has been providing COVID-19 care kits to individuals who are isolating at home. The kit contains different medicines, vitamin supplements, digital thermometer, pulse oximeter, face masks, alcohol, disinfectant, and waste disposal bag.
The DOH urged those who are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms to isolate at home in a bid to help decongest hospitals and temporary treatment facilities as an Omicron-driven surge rips through the capital region and surrounding areas.
There are 290,938 cases, of which 98% are mild and asymptomatic.
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