THE Department of Health (DOH) has ordered Metro Manila hospitals to set aside 10 beds each for possible swine flu victims.

"This order covers all hospitals, DOH, local government unit-operated facilities, and private hospitals," said Health Undersecretary Jade Del Mundo at a health forum in the Medical City, Pasig.

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Dubbed "Oplan Sagip Bayan," the forum aimed at further educating the medical community on the threat of the swine flu or the H1N1 virus and to discuss the government's strategy to prevent an outbreak in the country.

At the same time, del Mundo said they have divided hospitals in the National Capital Region (NCR) into four sectors to provide optimal use of resources and ensure prompt response to any reported cases of H1N1.

The Camanava (Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas, and Valenzuela) area was under the north sector with Caloocan as the center, the eastern sector with Quezon City as the center, Manila for the west sector, and Las Piñas for the south sector.

Del Mundo said hospitals outside of Metro Manila such as Cebu and Davao and other urbanized areas are also ordered to also set aside beds for possible swine flu patients.

But he said the public need not panic as the authorities are prepared for any eventuality, and the government is coordinating with local government units, private institutions, and international health bodies such as the World Health Organization (WHO).

Earlier, two suspected swine flu cases, a 50-year-old female and an 85-year-old from Iloilo, turned out negative after undergoing examination and analysis at the Regional Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM).

National Epidemiology Center director Eric Tayag said the female "suspect" recently arrived from Switzerland via Singapore and landed at the Davao International Airport and has a fever.

She was brought to a private hospital, which immediately reported to the DOH that brought her to the RITM hospital.

The second arrived from San Francisco and was brought to the same facility, but tested negative for Type A influenza and was sent home to Iloilo, though both are still under investigation.

But Tayag assured the public during the forum that safety measures are already in place to ensure that the country remains swine flu-free.

"We are ready. We have the measures in place, and we are in full coordination with local and international agencies," he said.

Five hospitals in the country have been designated as the main referral facilities for treating possible H1N1 patients. They are the RITM in Alabang, Muntinlupa, Lung Center of the Philippines in Quezon City, San Lazaro Hospital in Manila, Vicente Sotto Medical Center in Cebu, and the Davao Medical Center in Davao.

"All of these facilities are equipped with negative pressure isolation rooms for managing patients infected with highly virulent and pathogenic microorganisms," Tayag said.

The DOH is gearing up the purchase of an additional 200,000 capsules of the antiviral drug Oseltamivir to add to the 500,000 currently in stockpile.

Tayag added that Personal Protective Equipment such as masks are already prepared. A total of 21,800 masks were also on hand at the DOH central office ready for distribution in any case.

All DOH regional offices and local government units (LGUs) are also requested to look out for influenza outbreaks, influenza-like illness (ILI), and atypical pneumonia in their areas of jurisdiction, and to immediately report such cases to the National Epidemiology Center, Health Emergency Management Staff, or at the DOH Hotline 111001 or 711-1002.

Despite the threat of the H1N1, Tayag said the DOH has decided not to issue any travel ban in countries where the flu cases are reported even as he cautioned travelers to reconsider or temporarily postpone their plan unless extremely necessary. (AH/Sunnex)