At least 40 health facilities across the country were partially damaged by tropical cyclone Carina and the southwest monsoon or habagat, the Department of Health (DOH) said Sunday.
DOH Assistant Secretary Albert Domingo said those damaged were 18 barangay health stations, 14 hospitals, seven rural health units, and one DOH regional office.
“They are still operational. They were just flooded and had to evacuate some personnel. But the health workers have returned to their jobs,” Domingo said.
On Thursday, DOH Secretary Teodoro Herbosa reported there were 11 health facilities that sustained partial damage because of the typhoon.
Despite this, Domingo said that the DOH continues to provide primary care services to people affected by “Carina” and the habagat.
He noted that a total of 5,159 consultations of various health concerns have been conducted in the evacuation centers.
“They usually consult about common diseases such as cough and colds because we are in evacuation conditions. There are people who also ask about prophylaxis against leptospirosis because they waded through floods,” Domingo said.
Herbosa earlier said that cases of leptospirosis were expected to increase in the coming days as the heavy rains resulted in severe flooding in various parts of Luzon.
The National Capital Region (NCR), Ilocos Region, Calabarzon, and Central Luzon are currently under Code Blue due to the aftermath of Carina and the habagat.
Code Blue, the second highest alert, 50-percent agency resource mobilization, meaning teams are deployed to augment existing regular day-to-day resources, and attend to affected areas or to treat patients.
DOH’s Incident Command System is also activated and a coordinative meeting with health clusters is conducted. Coordination with the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) is also required under this alert.
