Members of the COVID-19 diagnostic team of Aringay, La Union, ride on a raft while crossing a river and climbing a mountain while wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) to conduct testing.
In an interview by Bayan Mo, I-Patrol Mo (BMPM) with their team leader, Nurse Paul Augusto Magno, 7 people were accompanied by nurses and a medtech to do contact tracing and swab-testing with close contact of COVID-19 positives.
They started doing this in August 2020, three times a week.
It is also not easy for the group to wear PPE while going to different places.
“Ang struggle d’yan ay number one naman po talaga na problema d’yan ay ‘yung ‘pag nakasuot na ng PPE … init tapos minsan hindi nakikipag-cooperate nang maayos ‘yung mga residente,” said Magno.
With all the hardship they are going through, for Nurse Paul and his team, they will not back down in the name of public service.
“’Yun po ‘yung nakalagay sa oath namin na ipo-provide namin ‘yung best health care kapag nasa community as community nurse. Sa part na ‘yun nakakaproud kasi kahit delikado basta na reach mo ‘yung goal mo satisfying na rin po,” he said.
Also read: Brothers die while cleaning a well in La Union
Health workers in La Union ride raft, climb mountains to conduct testing
Dr. Rolando Mallari, health program officer of Aringay, La Union, saluted his colleagues for their dedication to the work.
“It’s basically a picture that shows ‘yung unconditional service ng mga ito, maski pandemic, typhoon, ganun, we respond to such activities,” said Mallari.
“Ang gusto ko lang iparating siguro is, ang gulo na ng mundo natin dahil sa pandemic, pero if there are people, lahat naman tayo na willing to work and give our unconditional service to humanity, mas maganda siguro ang kahihinatnan ng ating kinabukasan.”
New record-high COVID-19 cases were recorded in the country again on Monday after 22,415 infections were reported.
This is the highest number recorded in a day since the pandemic hit the country.
As a result, the total number of people who tested positive for COVID-19 in the Philippines has risen to 2,103,331.
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