Davao Oriental: Davao Oriental is providing free accommodation to non-resident frontline health workers of Davao Oriental Provincial Medical Center (DOPMC).
Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). A virus so contagious and deadly that so far has caused a billion children and youth to stay out of school, millions of people to lose their jobs, hundreds of thousands of people to pass away, and thousands of people to be stuck in a place somewhere far from their homes and families.
Calling it as “pandemic”, United Nations has cited it as the greatest challenge we have ever faced since World War II.
Philippine President Rodrigo R. Duterte has described it as an “invisible enemy” and he considers the battle against it as more difficult than war itself.
Unsung Heroes
In the middle of this global pandemic are the unsung heroes who are the frontline health workers. They are the doctors and nurses working round-the-clock, committing themselves to difficult, draining work, often with no sleep. They become at risk of infection in their bid to save lives.
Unfortunately, hundreds of these heroes throughout the world have died treating people infected with COVID19. Health workers from all over the world are reported to have become “mentally and physically exhausted”.
Finally, however, the world has come to recognize and acknowledge that providing priority support, and keeping these heroes alive during this COVID-19 crisis is crucial to saving humanity.
Zooming into the province of Davao Oriental in the South of the Philippines, Governor Nelson Dayanghirang has provided free accommodation to doctors and nurses who are currently assigned at the province’s biggest hospital – the Davao Oriental Provincial Medical Center.
Doctors and nurses who are not residents of the province have benefited from this free accommodation.
Most of the doctors and nurses are from Davao City and other neighboring provinces. The accommodation is providing them a place to safely stay while the province is under the strict implementation of the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ).
LGU facility
The newly renovated Provincial Government-run Sangguniang Panlalawigan Dormitel at the Provincial Government Complex in Barangay Dahican in the City of Mati, serves as their haven. The facility is complete with basic amenities, conducive for them to rest comfortably after a hard day’s work at DOPMC.
Along with the free accommodation, free food is also being afforded to the frontliners. Personnel from the Provincial Tourism Office are attending to the residents’ needs.
Incident Commander and Inter-Agency Task Force on COVID-19 Action Officer, Dr. Reden Bersaldo who is also the Chief of Hospital thanked Governor Dayanghirang for the assistance given to the doctors and nurses who, he said, are crucial to the operation of the hospital.
Despite the fact that Davao Oriental has regained its zero status on COVID-19 positive, the Provincial Government, through this act, shows gratefulness towards the healthcare workers viewed as heroes of this crisis. (by Jan Vincent Leuterio, OJT of UM Tagum-PIA Davao Oriental with reports from PIO Davao Oriental/jmda)
