SEC. MARTIN ANDANAR PCOO
NEWS CORNER Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Martin Andanar on Friday brings the ‘BIDA Solusyon’ to Impasugong town in Bukidnon province with perfect timing, just as the town celebrates its Indigenous Peoples Day. Together with partner government agencies, Andanar explained the basics of the ‘BIDA’ concept by encouraging the public to regularly adopt the minimum health standards as a behavioral lifestyle as we course through the new normal. “BIDA Solusyon is really a big help to the national government in explaining to the people on what should be done so we can prevent COVID-19. This is also important so we can continue on our activities as well as proceed with our functions in developing our town. We definitely could not let COVID-19 defeat us,” the Secretary said. BIDA Solusyon is a social and behavior change campaign that encourages the practice of regular handwashing and facemask-wearing to lower the chances of coronavirus spread. The PCOO chief explained that the acronym “BIDA” stands for B-Bawal ang walang mask or not wearing of a mask is prohibited; I stands for I-sanitize
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| October 24-30, 2020
PCOO’S ANDAN ‘BIDA SOLUS IMPASUGONG, ang mga kamay, iwas hawak sa mga bagay or always wash or sanitize and avoid touching things; D-Dumistansya ng isang metro or maintain a distance of at least one meter; and A-Alamin ang totoong impormasyon or know the correct information and updates about the pandemic. Likewise, Dr. Beverly Lorraine Ho, Health Promotion and Communication Service chief of the Department of Health, emphasized that wearing masks and observance of physical distancing can help prevent further transmission of COVID-19. She described the results of recent studies showing that wearing a mask reduces transmission by 96 percent for N95 masks and 67 percent for non-N95 masks, while the observance of physical distancing by one meter can reduce the chance of transmission by 82 percent with protection increasing as distance is lengthened. Dr. Ho also emphasized that face shields should not be used as substitute for face masks and should only be used in addition to masks as added protection. Impasugong mayor Anthony Uy, meanwhile, announced that the town has just been declared COVID-free because those who were infected had