Friday, March 29, 2024

DOH launches free emergency hotlines for Covid-19 contagion

The Department of Health (DOH) has launched the Covid-19 emergency hotlines 02-894-Covid (02-894-26843) and 1555 in partnership with the National Emergency Hotline of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), and PLDT and its wireless subsidiary Smart Communications.

Photo shows DOH official Dr. Eric Tayag inspecting the hotline facility

Callers can ask questions if they suspect they are infected with Covid-19, or request assistance if they have symptoms and/or known exposure to confirmed cases or patients under investigation. The information collected from emergency calls is transmitted to the Covid-19 Emergency Operations Center and other relevant agencies for immediate facilitation and response.

“As we enhance our efforts to contain this disease, we are working with both the public and private sectors, which can provide the facilities and the technical expertise to address the many challenges that we face each day,” DOH secretary Francisco T. Duque III said in a statement.

“We expect an influx of calls in the first few days of the launch of the call center. We ask for the public’s cooperation and patience to allow only relevant and important calls to go through. In that way, we can provide timely medical assistance to those who really need it.”

PLDT chairman and CEO Manuel V. Pangilinan the project is part of his company’s collaboration with DOH and 911 to fight the spread of Covid-19. “We hope that with our services, we can help provide much-needed information that will enable health authorities to deliver proper patient diagnosis and treatment and ultimately stop the spread of this disease,” Pangilinan said.

The free 24/7 services will be available through 02-894-Covid. Smart and PLDT subscribers will also be able to use the 1555 hotline for free. Subscribers from other networks can access the 1555 hotline once technical adjustments are completed.

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