The Department of Health (DOH) declares a “Code White Alert” on “All Saints’ Day” and “All Souls’ Day“. According to Health Secretary Enrique Ona, a “Code White Alert” means readiness of hospital manpower like general and orthopedic surgeons, anesthesiologists, internists, operating room nurses, opthalmologists, and otorhinolaryngologists.
People also can report any health or health-related incidents through their hotlines at 711-1001 or 711-1002.
A Code White Alert is declared when there is a mass gathering or national event
Emergency service, nursing and administrative personnel residing at the hospital dormitory shall be place on an ‘on-call’ status for immediate mobilization during All Saints’ Day (November 1) and All Souls’ Day (November 2).
Health Emergency Management Staff (HEMS) operations center will be on active surveillance on November 1 and 2 to monitor any health or health-related emergencies.
Bureau of Fire Protection, Metro Manila Development Authority, Philippine National Police and local health units also coordinated with DOH.
Meanwhile, Ona appealed to transport owners to deploy more buses to bring people to provinces and avoid overcrowding and overloading of passengers, which oftentimes are causes of accidents.
He also advised people going to cemeteries to bring their own food and water to avoid diarrhea, or even food poisoning.
He warned against patronizing ambulant foods peddled inside cemeteries. Some of these foods are green mangoes, hotdogs, juices/gulaman & sago, barbecues, and the like. He said that the safety and sanitation of these foods are doubtful, as these might have been exposed to dusts and other disease-causing organisms.
“It would be better not to bring along babies and small children to memorial parks, as they are vulnerable to contracting diseases due to heat and congestion,” Ona concluded.
