To come up with measures on how to keep the mine site and its surrounding communities free from the novel corona virus (NCoV), Hinatuan Mining Corporation (HMC) conducted an emergency meeting on February 14, 2020.
During the meeting, HMC managers and key supervisors came up with a process flow to prevent the spread of NCoV in the mine site and its surrounding communities.
Since the measures will require extensive community engagement, HMC staff headed by Admin Manager and Company Physician Oliver Dennis O. Lao conducted an Information Education and Communication (IEC) campaign on COVID-19 in Barangay Talavera, Sitio Bagong Silang and Sitio Campandan.
They taught residents how the virus could be prevented by proper interventions such as sanitation and proper wearing of face mask.
“Individuals can practice everyday prevention measures such as frequent hand washing, staying home when sick, and covering mouth when coughing and sneezing,” Dr. Lao said.
“The success of this campaign will also need the active participation of the community,” he added.
The Philippines reported its first confirmed case of COVID-19 in January. The diagnosed patient was a 38-year-old Chinese woman from Wuhan, who had arrived in Manila from Hong Kong on January 21.
The second case was confirmed on February 2, a 44-year-old Chinese male who was the companion of the first case. He died on February 1, the first recorded outside China.
The Department of Health (DOH) confirmed a third case on February 5, a 60-year-old Chinese woman who flew into Cebu City from Hong Kong on January 20.
After the series of IEC campaigns of HMC, employees and residents of the company’s surrounding communities vowed to take precautionary measures to help Tagana-An free from COVID-19.
