Quarantine rolls on as COVID-19 cases in the country show no sign of decline. As of writing, the tally has reached more than 7,000. But as the rainy season approaches, like clockwork, we may have to face yet another health concern: dengue.

[READ: ECQ extended for high-risk areas. Here’s a rundown of Duterte’s latest IATF briefing]

Notorious for being rampant during wetter seasons, the country has been a hotspot for this mosquito-transmitted disease. But amid the fight against another disease, the Department of Health (DOH) assures the public that they have measures in place, separate from the COVID-19 front should dengue return in the coming months.

Last year, DOH declared a national dengue epidemic when the country tallied the highest number of dengue infections in Southeast Asia at over 270,000 cases with 1,100 deaths. Photo courtesy of Inquirer

In a virtual presser on Sunday, Apr. 26, DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said they are currently working to educate local government units on how to handle COVID-19 and dengue separately as well as other rainy season diseases.

Part of such efforts is designating COVID-19-specific healthcare facilities that will cater exclusively to coronavirus cases while also maintaining hospitals for non-COVID-19 patients.

“We want COVID patients to be treated in these specific hospitals so we can have space for non-COVID patients in other hospitals,” Vergeire said.

Over the course of the pandemic, the national government and LGUs have converted spaces other than hospitals to accommodate patients being observed for coronavirus. These include the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex, World Trade Center and the Philippine International Convention Center among others.

[READ: PICC, World Trade Center to be converted into COVID-19 quarantine facilities]

Last year, DOH declared a national dengue epidemic when the country tallied the highest number of dengue infections in Southeast Asia at over 270,000 cases with 1,100 deaths. Late 2019, the health department said cases have since deflated to a record low of 815 from Dec. 22 to 31 versus the same period in 2018.

Header photo courtesy of Erwin Mascariñas/Inquirer

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