“Koronadal needs to empower its people and protect them from Covid-19. The use of technology through the StaySafe.ph app will help us ensure that our constituents will be able to protect themselves from exposure to Covid-19.”
— Mayor Atty. Eliordo Usero Ogena
By EDD K. USMAN
KORONADAL CITY, South Cotabato (SDN) — TECHNOLOGY continued to be recognized as a weapon against the novel coronavirus.
This city here in Southern Mindanao under Mayor Atty. Eliordo Usero Ogena has given its vote of confidence to StaySafe.ph, thereby boosting the use of technology.
StaySafe.ph is an online “contact tracing, social distancing, and health conditions reporting platform. It was developed by MultiSys Technologies Corp. (MultiSys) led by Founder/CEO David Almirol, Jr.
The city is SOCCKSARGEN or Region XII’s administrative and trade and commercial center. Like other local government units (LGUs), it’s battling Covid-19, the deadly unseen enemy of the world. SOCCSKSARGEN stands for the provinces of South Cotabato, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani, and the city of General Santos.
Its adoption emphasizes the city’s continuing campaign in fighting the spread of Covid-19 through a Health Monitoring and Response Command Center (HMRCC) powered by StaySafe.ph.
SOCCSKSARGEN has at 54 confirmed Covid-19 cases, figures from the Department of Health (DOH) showed as reported by the Philippine News Agency (PNA) on Saturday.
Overall, the DOH said, the Philippines’ Covid-19 cases have climbed to 34,803 as of 4 p.m., July 27. The number of deaths is at 1,236 while recovered patients rose to 9,430.
On the Covid-19 Dashboard of Johns Hopkins University (JHU) in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, the global tally of coronavirus infections is now at 9,815,246; fatalities spiked to 494,596; recovered at 4,961,236. Figures are of Saturday, June 27 also.
Related story:MultiSys Launches ‘StaySafe.ph’ for Covid-19 Emergency Response
To leverage StaySafe.ph Ogena, according to a MultiSys statement, issued an executive order urging the city residents — he called Koronadaleño — to download the application because using it helps the LGU easily access the locals’ health situation, better mobilize the city’s response team, and properly allocate resources.
His executive order will be a boon to StaySafe.ph in terms of more users and increases the platform’s effectiveness in the city of 175,000 people.
The lawyer-mayor cited the vital use of the platform in the city’s efforts towards preventing the spread of the coronavirus.
“Koronadal needs to empower its people and protect them from Covid-19. The use of technology through the StaySafe.ph app will help us ensure that our constituents will be able to protect themselves from exposure to Covid-19,” said Ogena. “I enjoin Koronadaleños to use StaySafe.ph to help protect each and every member of our beloved community.”
Here’s how the platform works:
StaySafe.ph is a project of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) and the National Task Force (NTF) against Covid-19 that monitors the people’s health status and quickly identifies persons who may have symptoms of Covid-19; contacted by those listed under the suspect, probable and confirmed cases; or have been tested by local healthcare facilities. This aids the government on making much-needed timely and informed decisions to protect everyone in the city.
StaySafe.ph also has a QR code scanning feature which generates a unique QR code for each user that they may present for future health checks, and contact tracing in various establishments, malls, restaurants, workplaces, transport facilities, and checkpoints.
All data gathered from the app is directed to the local government’s portal. If there is an identified potential and possible case of the virus, the information will be shared with the Barangay Health Emergency Response Team (BHERT) to provide valuable medical assessment, guidance, advice and information to the patient.
Presently, Koronadal City’s command center has communicated to more than 500 registrants who had mild and severe symptoms and also with the locally stranded individuals (LSIs) and returning overseas Filipinos (ROFs). The command center has also coordinated the immediate response of some emergency cases. This is the first health monitoring command center powered by StaySafe.ph in the region established under the guidance of Eric Jumilla, StaySafe.ph technical partner in Region XII.
StaySafe.ph is an online “Bayanihan” (community collaboration), a nod to the Filipino Bayanihan spirit when neighbors come together to help anyone needing support. SDN/StaySafe.ph)
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Users can register to the contact tracing solution via the StaySafe.ph mobile application on Google Play Store and iOS App Store.