THE Department of Health (DOH) yesterday asked the public to be on alert for illnesses with symptoms similar to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), particularly respiratory diseases which are common during cold weather or the “ber” months of September to December.
Among these diseases are asthma, flu, fever, cough, said Health Undersecretary and DOH officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire.
To avoid these diseases, she said, the public must continue to observe minimum health standards.
“These will greatly help preventing diseases like COVID-19 and other respiratory infections common during the `ber’ months,” Vergeire said.
For those who have symptoms, Vergeire urged them to go to local health centers or rural health units, instead of directly to hospitals.
“These are very much equipped to attend to the patient’s primary care conditions, provide appropriate diagnosis, and handle case management that they wouldn’t need to go to higher level health facilities,” she said.
This will help avoid congestion of hospitals and other higher health care facilities, and “focus on patients that are really in need of hospital care,” she added.
Considering the similarities in symptoms of COVID-19 and other respiratory illnesses, Vergeire also urged local government officials to heighten their surveillance systems.
“If symptoms are the same with COVID, the community surveillance should be very robust.
It must be dynamic. It must be able to detect who among the community members are having COVID-19 or just having flu,” she said.
