Doctors say the front line situation is worse than the first months of the pandemic, contrary to what government officials say that the public should not be alarmed with the rising COVID-19 cases in the country.
Raffy Tima reported on “24 Oras” that several hospitals have reported virus infections among their staff.
“‘Yung mga sinasabi sa news na numbers, technically ‘yung iba do’n totoo pero you can’t handpick the data and make it appear na okay tayo,” Dr. John Besa of the Philippine General Hospital said.
(What the news says are numbers, technically some of them are true, but you can’t handpick the data and make it appear that we are okay.)
“I am telling everyone na in the front lines, hindi talaga okay. Sobrang mas malala tayo kumpara noong una,” he added.
(I am telling everyone that in the front lines, it is not really okay. We are much worse than before.)
Infectious disease specialist Dr. Monica Reyes-Montecillo, meanwhile, said medical workers were already exhausted.
“We are seeing more severe cases. The reality is lahat ng tao sa front lines pagod an [everyone in the frontline is tired],” she said.
The health workers called for better contact tracing efforts and additional quarantine facilities to stop the spread of COVID-19.
Also read: Roque: Rising COVID-19 cases not alarming as death toll remains low
Front line COVID-19 situation ‘much worse’ than before
Meanwhile, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire reported Tuesday that the country’s healthcare system was close to being overwhelmed due to the increasing COVID-19 cases.
The national COVID-19 bed occupancy rate is now at the “warning zone,” she said.
The DOH official said 52.3% or 8,577 of the 16,388 beds allotted for COVID-19 patients nationwide were occupied as of July 26.
The DOH earlier explained that an “area is in the “safe zone” if 0% to 30% of COVID-19-dedicated facilities are in use, while it is in the “warning zone” at 30% to 70% utilization and in the “danger zone” at 70% to 100% utilization.”
“Nationally, malapit na po na ma-overwhelm ang health system natin… kaya naman nakikiusap po kami sa inyo na sumunod po tayo sa minimum health standards,” Vergeire said in a briefing.
(Nationally, our health system is about to be overwhelmed… so we are asking you to follow the minimum health standards.)