Health stations will be set up in election precincts, DOH says

Health stations will be set up in polling precincts where voters experiencing sickness during Election Day could go for consultations, the Department of Health (DOH) said Saturday.

"We have coordinated with the Commission on Elections. There has been this series of meetings where we will establish health stations in each polling precinct," health undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said at the Laging Handa briefing.

"People feeling dizziness, high blood pressure could go into these health stations. They could also consult the health stations if they felt other symptoms, including COVID symptoms," she added.

Those with COVID-19 symptoms will be referred to the isolation polling places (IPP).

Vergeire said the DOH had conducted simulation exercises with Comelec officials last Thursday for the implementation of health protocols.

"We had long been preparing for this election. We have been in close coordination with the Comelec, the DILG and other concerned offices so that the government can guarantee that elections this year will be safe," she said.

Vergeire added that the country has been through a lot of mass gatherings, including campaign sorties, and Holy Week activities.

However, Vergeire reported a constant decrease in COVID-19 cases, with the country currently averaging 184 cases per day. An average of 78 cases per day was meanwhile reported in Metro Manila. —LBG, GMA News