Makati forms task force vs monkeypox

MANILA, Philippines — The city government of Makati has formed a task force to monitor and prevent the transmission of monkeypox, Mayor Abby Binay said yesterday.

In a statement, Binay said while there is yet no recorded monkeypox case in Makati, the city government wants to take proactive measures to prevent the possible community transmission of the virus.

She said the City Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit (CESU) has conducted online orientations and seminars for frontliners in 29 barangay health centers to brief them on the mode of transmission, prevention, detection, isolation and treatment of monkeypox.

The CESU is also in close coordination with the Ospital ng Makati to monitor cases and has communication with the Makati Medical Center and St. Clare’s Medical Center to discuss the action plan in case of an outbreak.

“We also plan to integrate monkeypox data into our COVID-19 tracker so that we can use data in making game-changing decisions like granular lockdowns to prevent community transmission,” she added.

The Makati CESU will refer suspected monkeypox cases to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine for proper testing.  In case of a positive case, the city government is looking to use one of the three buildings of the Makati Friendship Suites in Barangay Cembo to monitor, isolate and treat the patient.