The Bohol Inter-Agency Task Force (BIATF) is set to inaugurate on Friday its Emergency Operations Center (EOC) in Tagbilaran City which will serve as a unified data and response center for COVID-19-related matters.
Provincial Disaster Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) chief Anthony Damalerio on Wednesday said officials from the National IATF are expected to attend the inauguration which will be held in line with the celebration of the National Disaster Consciousness Month.
The facility is located inside the PDRRMO’s command center in Camp Bernido.
According to Damalerio, the EOC will also serve as a 24-hour communication line between the public and health authorities and is intended to help decongest hospitals in Tagbilaran City.
The EOC which collects real-time data from various agencies and hospitals across the province can inform the public on which hospitals still have spaces for possible COVID-19 patients.
“Real-time data na atong makuha ani labina sa occupancies and vacancies sa rooms nato for COVID or beds para ma-refer nato. Kadtong mga mild or moderate symptoms pwede adto lang adto ma-handle sa lungsod. Real-time makita nato na kung dunay tawag, dili na nato pa proceed-on diri sa Tagbilaran kay makita nato kung puno, so e-divert nato sila sa nearest na available bed na maka cater pud for COVID cases,” said Damalerio in an interview over station dyRD’s “Inyong Alagad” program.
The EOC will be manned by personnel from the Provincial Health Office (PHO), Department of Health (DOH) and the Governor Celestino Gallares Memorial Hospital (GCGMH).
Damalerio said GCGMH medical chief Dr. Mutya Macuno has assured that a medical team from the hospital including physicians will be stationed at the EOC to address medical queries.
The BIATF also tapped focal persons from all hospitals in the province to help relay information to the EOC.
Those who wish to contact the EOC may call or text the following numbers: 0917-510-1490 (GLOBE); 0949-795-5530 (SMART) and 0925-830-0117 (SUN).
According to Damalerio, the EOC will also cater to other medical concerns, not just COVID-19 matters.
“Bisan calls for non-COVID matters, kadtong manganak, naay ubang operahan, atong e-cater. Duna nay ga-traffic sa inflow ug outflow of COVID patients and non-COVID patients mao g’yud nay intention sa EOC. We would like to decongest city hospitals,” Damalerio said.
In a government-paid radio program, BIATF spokesperson Dr. Yul Lopez said on Wednesday that all hospitals in the province, including private facilities, are at “80-90” percent full amid the surge of COVID-19 cases in the province.
The intensive care unit (ICU) beds of GCGMH, which is the province’s main COVID-19 referral facility, is already “100 percent” full, Lopez added. (R. Tutas)