BACOLOD City – The city government here received coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) drug supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) from the national government as part of the response to the urgent appeal for assistance of Mayor Evelio Leonardia.
Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr., chief implementer of the Philippines’ Declared National Policy Against COVID-19, informed President Rodrigo Duterte of the aid sent to this city during the Chief Executive’s taped public address on Monday night.
Galvez said the supplies sent here included 400 vials of Remdisivir antiviral drug and 2,000 sets of PPE.
“Tinulungan po natin ‘yung city mayor doon sa Bacolod City, si Mayor Bing. Natuwa naman po si mayor dahil napadala po kaagad ang mga kailangan po na gamot para sa mga criticial doon,” he said.
Remdisivir is an antiviral drug permitted by the United States Food and Drug Administration to be used to treat COVID-19 patients. Each vial costs about P10,000.
Galvez added that five units of high-flow nasal cannula were deployed to Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital here.
The device is used to deliver oxygen to a patient in need of respiratory help.
Earlier, Leonardia said Galvez assured him that he will also visit this city after the team of Environment secretary Roy Cimatu, who led the Cebu special mission.
Cimatu and his team were here last week to assist the city in addressing its rising COVID-19 cases.
The mayor said the COVID-19 policy chief implementer also committed to deploy doctors and nurses from Central Visayas and arrange with the Department of Health-Western Visayas (DOH-6) to bring in more medical personnel to this city.
Some 12 medical workers from the Armed Forces of the Philippines already arrived here on Aug. 29.
Leonardia added that Galvez will also put in place, through the DOH-6, arrangements with certain hotels to serve as “bend-down” facilities to take in recovering patients who will be discharged earlier from hospitals to free hospital beds for admission of critically-ill cases.
As of early Monday, this city has 1,285 confirmed COVID-19 cases – 794 of which were active. (With a report from PNA/PN)
