THE Department of Health (DOH) on Monday reported that at least 1,624 residents who were temporarily evacuated suffered from acute respiratory infections amid the continued unrest of Mayon Volcano in Albay province.
In a press briefing, Health Undersecretary Enrique Tayag said there is an increasing incidence of cough, colds and sore throat among the evacuees.
However, he said, there is no outbreak of respiratory infections in the evacuation centers.
On Sunday, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) recorded a total of 184 volcanic earthquakes.
“Kung mapapansin niyo po itong reporting namin ay wala kaming sinasalaysay na sakit, syndromic surveillance po kasi ito [If you notice, in our reporting we are not citing incidence of disease, because this is a syndromic surveillance],” Tayag explained.
If it is a suspected Covid, the DOH official said, the person will be tested.
As of Monday, Tayag also said there are no active Covid cases in evacuation centers after the four cases recorded on July 14 are already negative of the virus.
Meanwhile, Tayag said the local government of Albay will begin administering bivalent Covid vaccines in evacuation centers.
Officials in the Bicol Region “reported to us that they will also mount inoculation drives in evacuation camps and they will use bivalent vaccines,” Tayag said, partly in Filipino.
Covid cases
Meanwhile, the DOH reported that 1,938 new Covid cases were logged from July 10 to 16, higher by 23 percent compared to the previous week. The average cases per day stand at 277. There were 26 deaths recorded which occurred from July 3 to 16.
Image credits: AP/Aaron Favila