In the second installment of “Sustaining the Conversation on COVID-19: How Do We Cope? The eTURO Webinar Series on Engaging Communities and Networks (WE CaN!!)” webinar last 03 April organized by the Ateneo de Manila University - Institute of Philippine Culture (ADMU - IPC) in collaboration with the Department of Science and Technology - Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (DOST-PCHRD), former Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Dr. Jaime Galvez Tan explained how the COVID-19 pandemic demands a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach.

He discussed how the involvement of every sector and individual is vital in defeating the pandemic through the implementation of cross-cutting strategies such as:

1. Implementing a national unified communication plan by targeting a change in behavior
2. Putting in place a nationwide monitoring and evaluation system for evidence-based policy making
3. Protecting health workers from being COVID-19 patients by providing enough supply of personal protective equipment (PPEs)
4. Increasing COVID-19 testing centers giving priority to epicenters of COVID-19
5. Increasing number of dedicated COVID-19 Hospitals - with designated ICU beds for COVID-19 patients who are senior citizens, those with comorbidities, severely ill and pregnant women
6. Shifting from a hospital centric response to an LGU-led or business sector-assisted community based systems:
• Classification of each home according to capacity for quarantine (i.e. number of rooms). Every barangay should have a COVID-19 map located in the barangay hall.
• Classification of provinces, cities or municipalities into those: at the epicenters, with less than 50 confirmed cases of COVID-19 or those with no confirmed cases at all at present
• Classification of citizens according to risks: comorbidities, age-bracket, socio-economic class

Covering communication strategies, local government initiatives, monitoring and evaluation systems, Dr. Galvez Tan reiterates that the current situation demands proactive and creative initiatives. “We are in extraordinary times demanding extraordinary thinking and extraordinary action,” he says.

To download Dr. Galvez Tan’s full presentation, go to this link: bit.ly/COVID19andme.