The Office of Civil Defense XI (OCD XI) received 163,380 units of personal protective equipment (PPE) from China early morning of April 5 at the old airport in Barangay Sasa, Buhangin District.
The donation includes various PPEs, such as disposable masks, goggles, surgical gloves, shoe covers, N95 mask, protective suits, breathing machine, infrared thermometer, and lianhua qingwen capsule.
Angie Payosalan, OCD XI information officer, told TIMES in a text message that these PPEs will be distributed directly to the hospitals in the region.
“These PPEs po will be given to our frontliners in Davao Region, especially those health workers,” she said. “These will help protect themselves and prevent transmission in the healthcare setting.”
She said this was the second batch of PPEs donated by China. On April 4, the country also donated 1,459,506 total pieces of various PPEs. This was a collaborative effort of the Fil-Chinese Multi Sectoral Assoc and the sister city of Davao which is the Jinjiang City.
She also said that the Philippine Air Force provided them air logistics needed for the transportation of the cargo.
Recently, Dr. Leopoldo Vega, Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC) chief of hospitals, said they already acquired several donations from different suppliers such as China and the national government.
“This is to make sure that they will not be contaminated with the virus since they are the ones facing and interacting with patients,” he said.
The PPEs, Vega said, can boost up the confidence of health workers in attending to COVID-19 patients.
He said that as of the moment, there are still enough PPEs for health workers as donations are coming. But they need to ensure the steady stream of supply in case of a surge in cases.
