CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Philippines — Xavier University – Ateneo de Cagayan is one with the rest of the country on the move to fight the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).
Various units and departments of Xavier Ateneo have extended their arms to local volunteer groups and hospitals. Xavier Ateneo has institutionalized its response to the pandemic as #XUKontraCOVID19.
Following the university-wide disinfection campaign on March 15 to March 20, Xavier Ateneo Chemistry and Biology departments donated rubbing alcohol formulated in their chemistry laboratories to the Northern Mindanao Medical Center (NMMC) on March 24, Tuesday.
The Biology department formulated 95% ethanol while the Chemistry department prepared 70% ethanol and 70% isopropyl alcohol from their inventory of absolute alcohol, following standards set by the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines for hand rubbing alcohol .
Another unit which lent its arms to NMMC is the University Bookstore which released its total inventory of 117 glue sticks and 400 sheets of acetate to Oplan North Mindanao Frontliners on March 21 and March 23. Many of the volunteers of the group are Xavier Ateneo alumni who personally paid for the donated supplies.
The CDO-based group had been active in creating and donating DIY face shields to frontliners and health personnel in response to the global pandemic. Xavier Ateneo, including its bookstore, had been on shutdown since March 18 and the volunteer group had been having a hard time pooling raw materials for their production.
On the other hand, the Development Communications Department had been continually releasing infographics as part of its information drive on COVID-19. By using Cebuano for its materials, the information drive sought to attain a wider reach in making locals understand the coronavirus pandemic.
The department and its corresponding organization, the Development Communications Society, releases information from prompts and news of the Department of Health and other government agencies to city updates on the COVID-19 counts.
One of their outputs showcased the difference between person under monitoring (PUM) and person under investigation (PUI) in Cebuano.
Furthermore, other departments are also holding their own donation drives for the procurement of Personal Protective Equipments (PPEs) and basic necessities to those in need.∎
