Medical personnel of the government’s uniformed agencies will augment the manpower of city-based hospitals with facilities dedicated to coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).
On Monday, the Regional Inter-Agency Task Force (RIATF) and the city government here signed the memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Police Regional Office 6 (PRO-6), Coast Guard District Western Visayas (CGDWV), and the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) for the deployment of additional medical personnel.
“This may not be the job of our uniformed personnel but they are our best recourse now. We are one in this fight because we belong to one government. And as government workers who took oath, we are here to protect and serve the Filipino people,” Civil Defense Regional Director and NTF 6 chair Jose Roberto Nuñez said in his message.
Dr. Mary Jane Juanico, head of the infectious disease cluster of the Department of Health Western Visayas Center for Health Development (DOH WV CHD), said the region recorded 46,513 Covid-19 cases as of May 30.
Juanico said the surge was first experienced in Negros Occidental and Bacolod City and now already include Panay.
While most of the cases were asymptomatic previously, it was noted that moderate, severe, and critical cases are also increasing, she said.
“Last month, our health care utilization rate was only 35 percent but with the surge of cases in Bacolod City and Iloilo City, our current utilization rate is now at 56.65 percent, nearing the moderate status of 60 percent,” she added.
The DOH, she said, was able to provide funds to augment the capability of hospital beds.
Juanico said it also deployed 15 nurses to three hospitals last week and more will be sent out this week.
Meanwhile, Dr. Roland Jay Fortuna, Iloilo City’s focal person for Covid-19, said that as of Monday’s deployment, they already have accounted 84 augmentation nurses composed of 20 from the province of Iloilo, 38 from DOH, 10 from the BFP, six from CGDWV, and 10 from PRO-6.
“A total of 132 nurses are needed and more or less 22 institutional workers to augment in the hospitals,” he said in his presentation.
Iloilo City currently has 1,632 cases, or an increase of 390 percent when compared with the infections recorded last month.
In the last seven days, the city has recorded a daily average of 96 cases, he added.
Based on their monitoring, 207 Covid-19 patients and 99 suspect cases are being admitted in 10 hospitals in the city.
Only one hospital bed is available as of current, he added, while there are 193 waiting to be admitted.
Meanwhile, Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas said the city government will be hiring 66 nursing aides and utility workers.
Signatories to the MOU were Nuñez, Treñas, Juanico for the DOH, RIATF chair and Interior and Local Government regional director Juan Jovian Ingeniero, PRO-6 director Brig. Gen. Rolando Miranda, BFP regional director Fire Senior Superintendent Jerry Candido, and CGDWV deputy commander Capt. Erlinda Benliro. (PNA)
