Cash incentive for Cebu City health workers eyed

CEBU, Philippines  — The Cebu City government plans to provide a monthly incentive of P10,000 to its health workers.

Mayor Edgardo Labella yesterday said at least 1,800 nurses, doctors, medical technologists and other medical workers, who serve as augmentation forces in private hospitals in the city, would receive the cash assistance for three months.

“Because we know the risk that they are facing as frontliners in this fight against the invisible virus, the COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019),” Labella said.

The Department of Health (DOH) had earlier said more health workers would be deployed to Cebu City to assist in the management of cases.

Several nurses and military doctors had been dispatched to hospitals in the city to build up their health system capacity.

Labella said the number of those who have recovered in the city is high despite an increase in the number of confirmed cases. As of Thursday, he said the recovery rate is at 54 percent.

Cebu City recorded 88 new cases yesterday, with 61 recoveries.

There are now 5,284 confirmed cases and 3,046 recoveries.

Eighteen deaths were recorded, raising the number of fatalities to 211.

Meanwhile, a team led by Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong will fly to Cebu City next week to share their contact tracing methods.

Central Visayas police director Brig. Gen. Albert Ignatius Ferro reportedly sought the help of Magalong to train their police officers on contact tracing.

Similar trainings were conducted in neighboring provinces where there was a spike in confirmed cases.

In Eastern Visayas, DOH regional director Minerva Molon said 81 of the 102 infected health workers remain in quarantine facilities.

Molon admitted that the situation is alarming even as she gave assurance that the delivery of health services in the region has not been affected.

Cagayan Valley LSIs

In Cagayan Valley, the number of COVID-19 cases is now 103 after four locally stranded individuals (LSIs) were found positive for the virus, test results released yesterday showed.

Cagayan provincial health officer Carlos Cortina said the returnees are from Sanchez Mira, Baggao, Tuao and Tuguegarao City, who arrived from Imus in Cavite, Quezon City and Manila under the Balik Probinsya caravan from June 21 to July 1.

Moratorium

Ilagan City in Isabela declared a 15-day moratorium in accepting LSIs and overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) amid concerns over the spread of the disease.

Mayor Jose Marie Diaz issued an executive order on the moratorium to allow the city government to install more quarantine facilities, acquire additional test kits and manage returning residents.

Diaz said he would also ask the provincial government to suspend the Balik Probinsya program.

In Tarlac, two OFWs from Paniqui and Tarlac City are the latest cases. Raymund Catindig, Miriam Desacada, Mary Ruth Malinao/The Freeman