POSITIVE CASE for a Badjao Native in CDO
POSITIVE CASE
Moreno admits challenges in containment of Badjao community
The case of the Badjao native who tested positive for COVID-19 presents several challenges as far as containment and isolation of the Badjao community located in the boundary between barangays Puntod and Lapasan are concerned, Cagayan de Oro City Mayor Oscar Oscar Moreno said Thursday noon (Aug. 27).
‘I passed by that area several times during the campaign trail and on first glance I don’t know how we can manage to contain the area because there are no natural boundaries there and there are no fences. I can only pray that the containment area will be effective. It’s very difficult, very challenging. The Badjaos would roam in the day and we need to make them realize clearly that the containment is for their protection. They have their own dialect and we have to communicate clearly with them,’ Mayor Moreno said during Thursday noon’s press briefing.
Mayor Moreno said Badjaos usually flock to Cagayan de Oro City in time for the annual city fiesta scheduled on Aug. 28 and this year isn’t different. ‘But things are different now and I hope the City Health Office (CHO), the City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO) and other departments can help the Badjaos realize (about the COVID-19 threat),’ Mayor Moreno said.
The City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Department (CDRRMD) in coordination with CHO placed San Juan Tabako, District 1 in Barangay Puntod under focused containment after a 21-year-old female Badjao resident got confined at the Northern Mindanao Medical Center (NMMC) due to vomiting and severe dehydration upon arrival from nearby Iligan City. About 30 Badjao families are reportedly residing in the area.
CHO resident epidemiologist Dr. Teodulfo Joselito Retuya saidf contact tracers and health workers were deployed in the area to conduct active health surveillance and tracing of persons with exposure to the female Badjao resident. CDRRMD chief Nic Jabagat said food assistance will be given to the families for the duration of the two-week localized containment period. ‘The residents there were tapped by their barangay officials to help in placing the area under containment,’ Jabagat said.
Aside from Puntod, Cagayan de Oro City Hall also placed a portion of NHA (National Housing Authority) Phase 1 in Barangay Kauswagan that is occupied by 40 households under focused containment after a 31 year old female health institution worker tested positive of COVID-19. ‘Each house in the area had their own fence and the site itself isn’t hard to place under containment,’ Jabagat said.
The female worker lost her sense of taste and smell during isolation at a private hospital and underwent swab tests which came out positive last Aug. 25. About five family members were moved to the city isolation unit for quarantine. #StopCOVID19 #DisiplinaMuna #AntiCOVID19 #COVID19WatchCDO #LGUCDOcampaign #Yourgovernmentatwork #Kaabag #Hapsay #CDOCityHallCollaboration #TheBiggerPictureForCDO #NagkahiusaBatokCOVID-19/Photos by Nicasio Anches and text by SC with CDRRMD maps and Nic Jabagat foto by SC
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