De Grano

Hospital brace for surge in cases amid Omicron threat

December 2, 2021 Lee Ann P. Ducusin 263 views

SOME hospitals and health care workers in the country are starting to prepare for a possible surge in cases amid the threat of the new Omicron COVID-19 variant.

The Private Hospitals Association Philippines said more nurses and medical staff were being assigned in COVID-19 wards in preparation for the Omicron threat.

“Baka less than two or three weeks lang baka dumami na naman ang cases natin. Dapat mag-ingat tayo at alagaan din ang mga bata kasi kung talagang pupunta ka sa mga malls makikita mo andaming mga bata,” PHAPI president Dr. Jose Rene De Grano said.

De Grano assured there are enough supplies of oxygen and medicines that can be used by COVID-19 patients.

“Okay na pati ‘yung mga supplies pati ‘yung gamot naka-stock na and then yung mga different areas siguro ang ginagawa na lang nila yung mga COVID-19 areas talagang pine-prepare at nililinis,” he said.

However, medical staff are hoping that the COVID-19 surge last July until September will not happen again when most of the hospitals and health facilities in the country reached full capacity.

“Nangangamba rin kami dahil kami ang unang mahahawa dyan, kasi mas exposed kami,” the PHAPI president said.

The Department of Health earlier said that healthcare workers are priorities for vaccination with booster shots against the viral disease.

More than 127,000 of the target 1.6 million health care workers in the country have been given booster shots.

Meanwhile, the DOH reported that Negros Occidental is taking additional precautions in placing three travelers from South Africa under quarantine as they were already cleared by the Bureau of Quarantine last week.

Two of the travelers arrived in the Philippines on Nov. 24 while the last arrived on Nov. 26, before the government enforced a travel ban on South Africa, which recently detected the Omicron variant.

The variant, which is found to have more than 30 mutations, is being blamed for the spike of cases in South Africa.

“Accordingly, Bureau of Quarantine already said that when they released the three individuals, they were cleared by the Bureau of Quarantine. So extra measures are being done in Negros Oriental wherein they were again isolated by the local government,” Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said.

Vergeire said there are no results yet from the RT-PCR tests taken by the fully-vaccinated travelers while under quarantine. They previously provided negative RT-PCR test results before arriving in the country.

DOH officials in Negros Occidental earlier tasked the local government to trace these foreigners.

Rayfrando Diaz II, Negros Occidental provincial administrator, said that as part of the foreigners’ company policy, new arrivals from abroad are not yet allowed to join the work force, hence they went directly to their staff houses and did not mingle with other people upon their arrival in the province.

The local government said the foreigners were fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and provided negative RT-PCR test results before arriving in the country

Meanwhile, Vergeire said contact tracing is being done for the 64 Filipinos from Red List countries that are at quarantine facilities.

“None yet but contact tracing is continuously being done and they were able to locate these 64 as I’ve said,” she said.

The Philippines has imposed a temporary travel ban on inbound travelers from South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique, Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium, and Italy.

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