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| Marikina City Mayor Marcelino Teodoro. (Photo From: Marikina PIO) |
[아시아뉴스통신=페이 기자] The Marikina City government and the local dialysis centers on Friday agreed to provide Covid-19 swab testing to cancer patients in the city before getting dialysis treatment. The measure will also minimize the risk of cancer patients who are immuno-compromised of getting infected with Covid-19. As part of health protocols, cancer patients are being required by dialysis facilities to undergo swab test to ensure that are not infected with Covid-19.
Mayor Marcelino Teodoro said in a statement, "Our immuno-compromised residents need to get their results quickly because they really need dialysis treatment. That's why we came up with this agreement with the eight dialysis facilities in the city to unburden cancer patients." "In just 24 hours, our laboratory will release the results of our cancer patients. After getting the result, they can immediately avail dialysis treatment," Mayor Teodoro said. Cancer patients are really having a hard time looking for a testing center that can cater to them quickly, Dr. Antonio Llabres said—Marikina City Task Force Covid-19 Logistics head.
He also said that the cancer patients only have to present referral letter from their doctor to the Marikina City Epidemiological Surveillance Unit (CESU), stating that they need to undergo a Covid-19 swab test in order to undergo dialysis treatment. "It is a matter of life and death that is why the process is also very simple. They are immuno-compromised and they really need dialysis treatment as soon as possible," he added. "Without the result of the test, they cannot undergo a session of dialysis treatment."
"As instructed by Mayor Marcy, cancer patients will be prioritized. No more lines unlike at other testing facilities, they will get tested immediately," he said. There are nine dialysis facilities in the city, three of which are located in hospitals while six are stand-alone centers. On the same day, Teodoro highlighted before the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) chairperson and Health Secretary Francisco Duque III the best practices, innovations, and recalibrated strategies employed by the city to curb the spread of Covid-19.
The Covid-19 Coordinated Operations to Defeat Epidemic (CODE) meeting with Marikina City’s Task Force Covid was held to assess and provide technical guidance being implemented by the local government unit. According to Mayor Teodoro, one of the innovations in Marikina is to expand their contact tracing capability wherein they conducted quick contact tracing and testing. He said the city is able to conduct 600 to 800 tests a day, almost double the national standard average.
The case doubling time of Marikina City is still significantly high which is good because it means that the transmission is very slow at 14.68 days, he added. The city will also hire 14 additional health workers who will conduct contact tracing and swabbing. Each of the 16 barangays of Marikina has a team of contact tracers composed of members of the City Epidemiological Surveillance Unit (CESU), local police, and barangay personnel, including the captain.
