Is Kalinga ready for a DELTA outbreak?

WHO reports that from "3 January 2020 to 4:50 pm CEST, 1 September 2021, there have been 1,989,857 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 33,448 deaths" recorded in the Philippines.

With the Delta variant already in various areas in the country, the recent data showed spikes of cases being experienced. Kalinga is not immune to the spread of Covid-19, although a delta variant is yet to be found in the specimen sent for testing.

From the last two weeks of August up to now, Kalinga has been under ‘high epidemic risk level’ classification.

Recently, WHO confirmed that the feared ‘delta’ variant is now the dominant coronavirus variant in the Philippines based on limited whole genome sequencing which is also believed to be as transmissible as chickenpox — with each infected person able to spread the virus to eight or nine others on average.

According to Engr. Mayer Adong, Provincial Director of Department of Interior and Local Government- Kalinga, the province and its Local Government Units conducted meetings to formulate contingency plans for the necessary preparation of possible delta variant outbreak.

Adong disclosed that they have called up the attention of the different mayors of Kalinga and gave strict orders to guard the 12 borders of the province and concerned authorities must guard different checkpoints, with the rules such as “No negative RTCPR test, No entry.”

He said that inventories for medical purposes such as additional isolation units or hospital beds were also discussed.

“Avoid going out and attending mass gathering… essentials lang ti mabalin iruwaran masapul intensify da ti vaccination program and encourage the elders to have the vaccine,” he advised.

Meanwhile, the undertaking of COVID-19 vaccinations, especially to A2 and A3 in the province, has been conducted and is still ongoing since experts say that the best protection for every community is to continue to vaccinate as many people as possible; if enough people are immune, then the virus is unlikely to spread.

But it has been observed that some of the citizens refuse to believe the virus, claiming that it’s all a hoax, while others are obediently following protocols made by the medical practitioners and implemented by concerned local authorities.

Province of Kalinga vs. possible Delta Variant outbreak

According to the DILG- Kalinga, the activities of the LGUs of the province as of July 2021 to minimize the local transmission of the COVID-19 Delta variant are the following:

Maintained border control/checkpoints and triage areas in strategic locations (main entry points in Kalinga)

• Preparation of Contingency Plan for COVID-19 Delta and Delta+ Variant

• Conducted inventory of critical equipment and facilities (available/ used hospital beds, oxygen tanks, etc…) and purchase/procure additional units as necessary as indicated in the contingency plan

• Continued regular monitoring of TTMFs, hospitals, and infirmaries for the number of beds available, the number of beds occupied, and other facilities and equipment and made the information available to the decision-making body for the covid response.

• Worked towards increasing the number of TTMF beds to attain the recommended/standard proportion of beds to the population.

• Continuous appraisal of LCEs and local IATFs of the trends in indicators for disease transmission for their LGUs

• Reiterated more stringent enforcement of MPHS in all LGUs given the increasing 2-WGR and ADAR

• Find space for the DSO staff to hold office

• Intensified IEC on COVID-19 vaccination – encouraging all target priority groups to be included in the master list

• Release allocated vaccines to LGUs immediate inoculation. Focus vaccination on targeted groups where new cases of COVID-19 are clustered

• Achieve 90% immunization for A1 groups by end of July 2021. Subject to availability of vaccines, prioritize immunization of A2 and A3 groups, and initiate immunization of A4 and A5 groups

• Make available drugs; namely, remdesivir, tocilizumab, and parenteral dexamethasone at the KPH and other hospitals (that have trained physicians – Internists – who know how to use these medicines for COVID-19patients

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