A health official on Friday urged persons who visited the Manila Baywalk Dolomite Beach last weekend to monitor themselves for symptoms of COVID-19.
In a media briefing, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire advised the visitors experiencing any of the COVID-19 symptoms to self-isolate immediately. She also reminded them to wear face masks inside their homes.
“Always monitor if you experience sore throat, coughs, colds, no sense of taste, no sense of smell, let’s monitor all that,” Vergeire said.
Last October 24, the Manila Baywalk Coordinating Office recorded "tens of thousands of people," including children accompanied by their parents who visited the beach.
Consequently, the Palace appealed to the public to observe the minimum public health standards when visiting the beach which opened on October 19.
“That’s just a little sacrifice, you might feel warm and uncomfortable to breathe but that will prevent infection in your family,” Vergeire said. (See full story online at manilastandard.net)
Vergeire added the Department of Health “is not likely mandated to give an opinion” on Mayor Francisco Domagoso's suggestion to file charges against Department of Environment and Natural Resources officials responsible for the overcrowding at the Dolomite Beach.
“We leave that to the appropriate agency of government,” she added.
Following the overcrowding, the DENR established additional crowd control measures for the Dolomite Beach to better prevent possible spread of COVID-19 while enabling the conduct of maintenance and other works.
Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu also relieved the ground commander of the Manila Bay Task Force.
"The incident [overcrowding] needs to be investigated so we can correct our mistakes," Cimatu said.