Zamboanga del Sur is asking the National Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) to place the province under modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) to prevent the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).
Dr. Anatalio Cagampang Jr., Zamboanga del Sur provincial IATF-EID chairperson, said Tuesday the MECQ will lessen the number of people going out of their homes to help curb the spread of the virus.
Cagampang, who is also the chief of Zamboanga del Sur Medical Center (ZDSMC), expressed apprehension that the healthcare system of the province might collapse if Covid-19 cases will not be contained soon.
He added the ZDSMC started with 50 beds dedicated for Covid-19 patients but was increased to 100-bed capacity in August due to the surge of cases.
They have also set up 20 emergency room tents at the hospital’s parking lot since there were 152 admissions of Covid-19 patients as of Monday.
“We put up emergency room tents since we cannot just see them leave the hospital unattended,” he said, citing most of the patients seeking medical attention start to arrive by midnight.
He said most of the patients manifested severe to critical symptoms as they are unvaccinated.
Data from the Department of Health regional office showed that Zamboanga del Sur has 1,806 active cases of Covid-19 as of September 4, which is the highest in the region.
The province has 8,168 confirmed Covid-19 cases with 6,113 recoveries and 249 deaths.
Cagampang said they already lack health personnel to attend to patients since 53 healthcare workers including physicians, nurses, and nursing attendants have contracted Covid-19 as of Monday.
There are also staff on quarantine but he did not say how many health care workers they have in the province.
He added that they now lack a supply of oxygen and running low on medicines.
Source: Philippines News Agency
