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Before authorities decided to move mild and asymptomatic COVID-19 patients out of the hospitals, we first heard of COVID-19 patients spending hours in isolation tents outside hospitals as they await admission. We talk to the president of the Philippine Hospital Association, Dr. Jaime Almora.
Former Vice President Jejomar Binay
On Good Friday came the shocking news from the Department of Health (DOH) that the number of active COVID-19 cases for the day totalled 15,310. Many experts had predicted this would happen sooner than later, but its announcement on Good Friday only magnified the somber mood of the day that we Catholics commemorate, by tradition, the death of our Lord and Savior.
Make no mistake about it. This surge is unprecedented, and for many, is hitting closer to home. Entire families are getting infected, including young children, Frantic calls to government hotlines are mostly unanswered, leaving the afflicted to tend to themselves the best they can with the help of close relations and kind neighbors.
COVID-19 cases surge in the Philippines
COVID-19 daily cases are surging in the Philippines as hospitals declare themselves overwhelmed. On April 2, the seven-day moving average daily case rate hit 9,021, more than twice the peak of 4,421 cases reached last year. Active cases are at a new record of 153,809 and the death toll is now 13,297. The numbers continue to rise. The Department of Health reported 11,028 new cases on Sunday.
Figure 1: Graph from Philippine Department of Health, April 03, 2021
So far, Metro Manila, the national capital region (NCR) and four surrounding provinces have borne the brunt of the surge with 70 percent of active cases or 109,496.
By JULIA MARI ORNEDO, GMA News
Published April 5, 2021 3:31pm The Department of Health (DOH) said on Monday that the government had enough funds to augment the health workforce amid a new surge in COVID-19 cases but lamented that only a few health workers were “heeding the call.” Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire added that the DOH had given hospitals enough funds to hire health workers directly. Over 7,000 have been hired since the DOH launched its emergency hiring program for health workers at the start of the pandemic last year. “Unfortunately, the challenge still would be the uptake. We have the money to hire but not many health workers are heeding the call maybe because of fear or some are really deployed already in other industries,” Vergeire said in a Palace briefing.
Senator Nancy Binay on Monday backed the proposal of the Philippine College of Physicians (PCP) to turn some hotels into temporary hospital facilities to house COVID-19 patients with mild to moderate symptoms.