Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Benitez said the city government is preparing a halfway house for watchers of patients at the Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital*
The Bacolod City and Negros Occidental Disaster Risk Reduction Management Offices are joining forces and resources for a unified approach in the battle to prevent the spread of diseases such as monkey pox and COVID-19, Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez said on Monday, August 1.
The COVID-19 cases in Negros Occidental hit 110 on Monday, the Provincial Incident Management Team reported.
Bacolod City has 137 active COVID-19 cases, the Department of Health (DOH) also reported.
Benitez said while COVID-19 cases have increased, most only had fever like symptoms and had swift recoveries.
The entry of visitors into Bacolod is being monitored, Benitez also said, noting that the first monkey pox case in the Philippines was reported by the DOH last week.
The city government is taking proactive measures against the spread of dengue, he added.
Fumigation is being undertaken in schools in preparation for the opening of face-to-face classes and barangays are being oriented on how to prevent dengue, he said.
The city government is fixing a halfway house for watchers of patients at the Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Hospital, the mayor said.
Registration of Bacolodnons for Bacolod City Comprehensive Health Program coverage is underway, Benitez also said.
He has asked the Sangguniang Panlungsod to give him authority to negotiate with private hospitals to iron out the details of the program, Benitez said.
“We are now discussing what kind of coverage can be given, but when it comes to indigent patients we are moving towards a policy of no balance billing,” Benitez said.
They will start with the indigents and later expand it to other areas, he said.
“We are working on that together with private hospitals, who still have a lot of concerns, ” he said.*