ISRAEL is committed to help the Philippines address the pandemic as its team of medical specialists arrived in Manila this week for a five-day mission to share their "best practices" in treating patients infected with the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).
The four-man Israeli medical response team will share with the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) its experience in treating Covid (Coronavirus disease) patients.
The Israeli delegation, which arrived in Manila on July 26, is composed of infectious diseases and Covid-19 specialist Dr. Guy Choshen; Shira Peleg, head nurse and nursing manager at the Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center's Emergency Department; Eyad Jeries, trauma coordinator at Galilee Medical Center; and Chaim Markos Rafalowski, disaster management coordinator at Magen David Adom (MDA).
The Israeli Embassy in Manila on Wednesday said the Philippine government has a series of activities lined up for the Israeli medical experts so they can observe the country's Covid-19 response.
The delegation will share their current local clinical guidelines for Covid-19, infection control protocols, hospital management, and other practices.
Nir Balzam, Chargé d'Affaires of the Embassy of Israel in the Philippines, stressed during the welcome ceremony the improvement of the relationship between Manila and Jerusalem over the past few years and even during the pandemic.
"Israel has shown its commitment to the Philippines. We will do whatever we can in order to assist and share our knowledge," Balzam said.
He added, "And of course, we are also extending to learn and enhance our knowledge in the different challenges that the Philippines have."
"As members of the global community we must continue moving as one towards the protection of the entire human race and the scale of this pandemic requires that it is the only rightful response," said Health Secretary Francisco Duque 3rd as he welcomed the second batch of Israeli health experts.
The first group, which focused on sharing Israel's best practices in implementing a national vaccination campaign, completed their four-day mission to Manila in June.