Where is NEMO on Coronavirus?

Marvin Manzanero

According to Director of Health Services, Doctor Marvin Manzanero, the Ministry of Health has been working closely with NEMO in coming up with a course of action to combat an outbreak and that the emergency management organization has attended several meetings in an effort to prepare its personnel in the case of an outbreak.

Isani Cayetano

“What, if any, is the involvement of the National Emergency Management Organization in any plan going forward should there be an outbreak of COVID or whenever that does, will there be a plan of action that includes this particular organization?”

Dr. Marvin Manzanero, Director of Health Services

“They did participate because I kind of lost track of the many meetings we have had and I know you had one just yesterday and I know you had one today at the Northern Health Region, but they did come, NEMO, to the surveillance meeting at the national level last week Tuesday or Wednesday.  They have been engaged, just like with the dengue situation, you might not be aware that they provided some level of support when we ran out of hospital bed capacity at the Southern Health Region, they provided the cots that we would be routinely using for a hurricane situation.  So we had patients in cots at Southern Health Region.  So they are aware, granted they don‘t have a Ministry of Health table, if you will, but we have representation at the NEMO sub committees to be able to flag it for them for whenever their situation or their response is required, whenever it‘s going to be declared an emergency beyond what the Ministry of Health is able when it becomes a national situation they would be alerted.”