NO BARRIER TO FAITH. In a first in its centuries-old procession, the Black Nazarene is encased in tempered glass to discourage contact with the image amid the threat of a resurgence of Covid-19. But this has not discouraged the crowds escorting the Nazarene on the Traslacion on Jan. 9, 2024. — RICHARD A. REYES
MANILA, Philippines — Hospitals in the National Capital Region (NCR) are on a “Code White Alert” for the Feast of the Black Nazarene next Thursday, Jan. 9, the Department of Health (DOH) said Friday.
“Code White Alert” means hospitals must be ready to respond to emergencies at any time, particularly their general and orthopedic surgeons, anesthesiologists, internists, operating room nurses, ophthalmologists, and otorhinolaryngologists.
READ: DOH places hospitals on ‘Code White’ amid Undas
“We’ve put out a Code White Alert not only at the Central Office but the entire NCR as well as Central Luzon and Calabarzon,” DOH Health Emergency Management Bureau chief Dr. Irvin Miranda said in Filipino at a press conference in Quiapo.
“We’ve also committed 20 hospital health emergency response teams. All from our DOH hospitals. In every segment, the DOH will be present,” he added.
READ: Nazarene feast: What devotees need to know for Traslacion 2025
This year’s Traslacion, the grand procession of the image of the Black Nazarene, will ply the same route from last year, stretching 5.8 kilometers across 12 segments with 12 prayer stations scattered throughout.
READ: Nazareno 2025: Full deployment, gun ban, road closures on Jan. 8 – MPD
Medical teams are already part of the contingents from the Philippine Coast Guard and the Bureau of Fire Protection, in anticipation of millions of devotees flocking to Quirino Grandstand and Quiapo Church.
READ: Red Cross to deploy 500 volunteers, staff for Traslacion 2025
Further, the Philippine Red Cross will be deploying 500 volunteers and staff across 17 first aid stations and one emergency medical unit along the route.
On rumors of a disease outbreak
The DOH also assured the public on Friday that there was no confirmed “international health concern” amid rumors on social media of a disease outbreak in China.
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The Chinese Embassy in the Philippines denied the claims circulating online that China declared a state of emergency as the respiratory illnesses overwhelmed hospitals and crematoriums, calling the social media posts “fake news.”
“We are monitoring what’s happening in other countries, especially China, when it comes to cases of respiratory illness… We’re on standby,” Miranda said in Filipino.
“If there is this condition in our country, the Department of Health will alert the public and give an advisory not only to the management of Quiapo Church but to the public so that our celebration will be safer,” he added.
Meanwhile, Manila Mayor Honey Lacuna assured the public that regardless of a public health emergency, authorities would follow protocols from when the Traslacion returned in 2024 after a three-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Like what we did post-pandemic, we will continue enforcing hand washing, sanitizing and – if possible, if it’s not that much of a hindrance – use of face masks. That’s what we are still implementing,” she said.