The possibility of the dreaded capacity overload of hospitals looms over Bohol as the number of COVID-19 cases continues to surge in the province.
Dr. Mutya Macuno, medical chief of the Governor Celestino Gallares Memorial Hospital (GCGMH), said on Thursday that admissions at the hospital have been on the rise due to the increasing novel coronavirus cases in the province.
The facility, which is the province’s main COVID-19 referral hospital, has not reached full capacity but is “getting there.”
“Diri sa Gallares, kay gi monitor man g’yud na nato, wala paman tuod siya mapuno apan nagkapuno na siya,” said Macuno in an interview over station dyRD’s “Inyong Alagad” program.
Macuno, who is also the Department of Health’s provincial COVID-19 coordinator for Bohol, said private hospitals have also been taking in more COVID-19 patients.
“Nagkasaka g’yud siya. And sa private hospitals daghan na pud, nagkapuno na pud siya,” she added.
The health official said that Bohol has not reached the same level as Metro Manila in terms of hospital overload but noted that the province is “in danger” of falling into the same situation.
In the nation’s capital region, COVID-19 patients have been lining up at hospitals for admission.
“Wa pa ta mo abot na ma pareho atong kaso sa Manila nga wa na jamp siyay kabutangan apan og dili ta magmatyag, peligro kaayo na mahitabo siya,” Macuno said.
Macuno aired her support for implementing stricter movement restrictions in the province including the intensification of the quarantine level in the province from MGCQ (modified general community quarantine), the least restrictive quarantine level, to ECQ (enhanced community quarantine).
“If that is what it will take na ma-contain nato ang pas-spread sa atong coronavirus cases karon sa Bohol or sa Tagbilaran ug ubang towns, then magsakripisyo sa napud ta og balik kay tan-awon nato ang nahitabo sa Manila ron, luoy kaayo,” she said.
Macuno attributed the rapid increase of COVID-19 cases in Bohol to the public’s flouting of health safety measures such as wearing of face masks and observing social distancing.
As of Thursday afternoon, there were 474 active COVID-19 cases in Bohol based on data from the Bohol Inter-Agency Task Force.
Almost all of the cases at 473 were identified as local transmission cases.