Amidst the increasing number of those contaminated with the COVID-19 virus, there is now a need to establish an Emergency Operations Center due to the dwindling number of hospital beds available for Covid patients.
Sources from the health cluster of the Bohol InterAgency Task Force (BIATF) told the Chronicle that this emergency center is badly needed in order to synchronize decision making that would affect the entire medical teams working while COVID patients are now at 1,412 active cases.
Health authorities are alarmed at this situation since the count has never gone below 1,000 cases during the past two weeks. Yesterday, there were 130 new cases, out of the 546 swab samples processed.
Dr. Kazan Baluyot, president of the Philippine College of Physicians (Bohol Chapter) said the medical sector is seeing an “alarming increase in our Covid-19 cases in the province.”
The BIATF and the soon-to-open Emergency Operation Center (EOC) will be actively coordinating with the various town mayors, health institutions, non-government organizations, for an active contact tracing of cases here.
Dr. Anthony Damalerio, head of the Provincial Disaster Risk Management Office said EOC will be manned by personnel of DOH-Gov. CelestinoGallares Hospital. Provincial Health Office, and the PDRRMO/TaRSIER 117.
This is designed to have a more effective and faster relay of information cause all the representatives of the three agencies will be housed in one room.
This means that the referral flow of COVID patients will be addressed faster.
It is envisioned that mild and moderate cases in the towns will be handled and supervised by the respective LGUs while only severe cases will be brought to Tagbilaran City-based hospitals.
The Chronicle reported two weeks ago that private hospitals are already overwhelmed with COVID patients wherein very few hospital beds are left amidst a shortage of nurses to attend to the COVID patients.
A private hospital confirmed that while they have 17 rooms for COVID patients, they can only accept 4 patients as they lack nurses to do man-to-man handling of the COVID patients
Dr. Baluyot told the Chronicle yesterday some of the reasons for the spike could be attributed to mass gatherings while not conforming to the IATF standards, laxity of the implementation of minimum health protocols in several areas (especially in workplaces).
Home isolation facilities are not conforming with the basic standard of a separate room/comfort room for those in isolation, according to Dr. Baluyot.
He said the others that are needing improvement is the quarantining of those identified as “first generation” contacts and the likelihood of variants that are yet to be medically proven.
Breakdown of protocols in public transportations like vans and jeepneys are noted by netizens wherein their occupancies are now getting full instead of being regulated.
Amidst this alarming situation, the Bohol Medical Society and the Philippine College of Physicians (Bohol Chapter) are united as one in urging a faster rollout of the vaccines coming from Manila.
DAILY ADDITION
Every day no less than 100 new positive cases are recorded thereby causing the alarm.
The public demands a scientific analysis and evaluation as to how and why this fast increase in Covid patients.
Dr. Bong Lechago of Holy Name University Medical Center in an interview with the Chronicle said there is a need for “epidemiologic surveillance” in investigating COVID cases in order to know the mode of transmission.
There is also a call for strict implementation of isolation compliance, DrLehcago said.
Yesterday, there were 130 new cases in one day with Tagbilaran topping with 37 new cases. Next with seven new cases, each are Dauis, Balilihan, Candijay and five new cases in Bilar, Inabanga, and Duero; four cases each in Ubay, Tubigon, Carmen, Cortes, and Calape.
LABORATORY SHUTDOWN POSTPONED
The molecular laboratory at the Gov. CelestinoGallares Regional Hospital which was supposed to suspend operations tomorrow will continue accepting swab samples.
Earlier, a temporary shutdown was supposed to start tomorrow due to the corrective maintenance work of its negative pressure HVAC system.
However, the latest word from the Gallares Hospital said the suspension of operation will be postponed since the team from Davao could not come to Bohol due to the exposure of PMT team members from Davao who have to undergo quarantine.
The Gallares Hospital will continue to process SWABs until further notice.