DILG orders LGUs to set up local coronavirus task force

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) ordered every local government unit (LGU) to set up a coronavirus task force in their respective areas.

Through Memorandum Circular No. 2020-077 dated Friday, April 24, the DILG directed all LGUs “to fully establish and activate their respective Local Task Force Against COVID-19 and align all their actions with the national strategy framework.”

The local task force should adopt the 4-step general protocols against COVID-19: contact tracing, isolation, testing, and reintegration or referral.

In line with these protocols, it should have the following teams, said the interior department:

• Contact tracing team, led by the head of the local epidemiology surveillance unit of the LGU or its equivalent
• Diagnostics and testing team, which will conduct expanded testing efforts
• Patient management and monitoring team, under which are the following units:
• Isolation facility management unit
• COVID-19 referral and liaison unit
• Reintegration and psychosocial counseling unit
• Logistics and resources support team

The local task force in each LGU should be headed by the governor (at the province level) or the mayor (at the city or municipality level).

It should also be composed of representatives from the following offices:

• Local DILG or city/municipal local government operations office (C/MLGOO)
• Philippine National Police
• Bureau of Fire Protection
• Local disaster risk reduction and management office (P/C/MDRRMO)
• Municipal health office (MHO)
• Barangay health workers (BHWs)
• Barangay Health Emergency Response Teams (BHERTs)
• Barangay public safety office (BPSO)
• Regional/local epidemiology surveillance unit (RESU/LESU)

The LGUs, through their task force, must submit regular status reports, said the DILG memo. The task force should also closely coordinate with the Department of Health (DOH) Center for Health Development.

In January, the DILG had urged local governments to set up these task forces after the first-ever COVID-19 case in the country was confirmed on January 30. 

Then on April 18, the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases enabled LGUs to lead the fight against the virus.

Even before these measures, some LGUs have been proactive in combating COVID-19 by taking precautions and implementing various initiatives to protect their residents.

As of Saturday, April 25, there are 7,294 coronavirus cases in the Philippines, with 494 deaths and 792 recoveries. – Rappler.com