DOH-6 reminds public to observe ‘safe holiday season’

By John Noel E. Herrera

The Department of Health (DOH) in Western Visayas reminded the public to follow safety precautions as the holiday season approaches.

DOH-6 officer-in-charge assistant regional director Dr. Ma. Sophia S. Pulmones advised the public to observe minimum health standards as the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is still ongoing.

“Manubo naman ang aton kaso sang COVID, ugaling kay there are some who are still vulnerable like our senior citizens, ang mga may underlying medical conditions kag mga wala pa mabakunahan. So, gina-panugyan ta gid sa tanan ngaa despite the celebration of the holidays, we still observe the minimum public health standards,” Pulmones said.

She also emphasized that the public should ensure that the food they will prepare and eat during the holiday season is healthy and clean to avoid contamination and other health hazards.

“We should ensure nga ang aton mga pagkaon safe, food safety. Ang pag-preparar sang pagkaon during the holiday, i-ensure gid nga matinlo ang pag-preparar. I-ensure nga hindi contaminated and those food nga kinahanglan i-refrigirate, i-refrigirate gid because these are common causes of food and water-borne diseases.”

Pulmones reminds everyone to avoid too much consumption of alcoholic beverages as “it can also be a cause of traffic accidents” and health risks as well.

Aside from food, DOH-6 added that parents and adults who want to give gifts to children should ensure that what they give is safe and not hazardous.

“We should ensure nga safe man ang aton mga regalo sa ila kag pili-on naton nga hindi matulon sang kabataan, hindi man sila mapilasan,” Pulmones said.

DOH-6 also warned the public about buying and using firecrackers, and if possible, just refrain from using them to avoid injuries.

“Hindi man kita gusto nga pagkatapos sang New Year, kulang na ang aton mga tudlo, napilasan kita, nabulag or na-amputate ang aton mga tudlo. Pwede man kita maka-celebrate sang New Year safely, so likawan ang paggamit sang mga palupok nga makahalalit,” Pulmones added.

DOH-6 will start the monitoring of firecracker-related incidents on Dec 21, 2022 until the first week of Jan 2023.

Hospitals will also be placed under “code white alert” (meaning that medical staff are under on-call status for immediate response and mobilization) status in preparation for any health-related incident which may occur during the Yuletide season.

Data from DOH-6 indicated that Western Visayas only logged 33 cases of firecracker-related injuries on Jan 1, 2022, which was 21 percent lower compared to 42 reported cases in 2021.