THE city of Makati, seat of the financial district, is on alert against monkeypox.
City Hall formed a task force to monitor monkeypox cases and proactively prevent community transmission of viral respiratory infections.
“We formed a task force last August 3 to proactively prevent monkeypox transmission in Makati. At the same time, we want to equip Makatizens with the right information about the virus and avoid the spread of fake news,” said Mayor Abigail Binay.
To date, Binay said that there is no recorded case of monkeypox in the city.
She said the Makati City Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit (CESU) conducted online orientations and seminars for frontliners in 26 barangay health centers last July 7 and 23 to brief them about the modes of transmission, prevention, detection, isolation, and treatment of monkeypox.
She said CESU is in close coordination with the Ospital ng Makati to monitor cases and will meet with officials of the Makati Medical Center and St. Clare’s Medical Center today to discuss the city’s action plan in case of a monkeypox outbreak.
“We also plan to integrate monkeypox data into our Covid-19 tracker so that we can use data in making game-changing decisions like granular lockdowns to prevent community transmission,” she said.
Binay said the city will continue to promote minimum public health protocols such as wearing face masks, observing physical distancing, and frequent hand washing since the monkeypox virus can be transmitted through respiratory droplets, bodily fluids, and contaminated objects.
She said CESU will refer suspected cases of monkeypox to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine for proper testing.
If a person tests positive for monkeypox, CESU plans to use one of the three buildings of the Makati Friendship Suites in Barangay Cembo to monitor, isolate, and treat the patient.
The mayor also said the city will provide free medicines and food packs to Yellow Card holders infected with the monkeypox virus.