At least 80 Spanish healthcare workers have tested positive for Covid-19 after attending a hospital Christmas party in the city of Malaga, officials confirmed on Tuesday. All 80 are asymptomatic or have only mild cases, but the hospital is struggling to replace the confined workers, local media reported. Union representatives said on Oct. 31, local health authorities fired 1,500 healthcare workers because they assumed the pandemic was coming to an end. “If that wasn’t the case, we’d have enough personnel to substitute our colleagues who can’t work,” Juan Carlos Navas, a union representative for Malaga nurses, told local media. A
The bed occupancy rate for Covid-19 patients in Manila significantly dropped to just 13 percent with only 65 occupied beds in the city’s six district hospitals as of Dec. 7. The data reflects a 56 percent drop compared to the 23 percent bed occupancy rate with 116 occupied beds on Nov. 7. The city’s Covid-19 field hospital in Quirino Grandstand has now only 12 occupied beds or only 3 percent of the 344 available beds, reflecting a 25 percent decrease in its occupancy rate a month ago. Manila’s 14 Covid-19 quarantine facilities currently have a zero percent occupancy rate. The
The National Capital Region (NCR) is likely to see a merrier Christmas as it logs an average of only 105 new coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases per day from December 1 to 7, the OCTA Research Group said on Wednesday. In its latest report, the group noted NCR’s average daily attack rate was less than one at 0.74 per day for every 100,000 individuals. “The reproduction number was very low at 0.34 while the test positivity rate was just 1.1 percent,” it said. The NCR and the 11 local government units (LGUs) comprising it are classified as very low risk
The Ospital ng Makati (OsMak) and the Makati Medical Center (MMC) have recorded “zero” new cases of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) during the past two weeks, the city government reported on Wednesday. In a statement, Mayor Abigail Binay said the city-run OsMak has not recorded any new Covid-19 case since November 24, despite aggressive testing efforts. “Earlier this month, we had 54 patients with Covid-like symptoms at OsMak. Fortunately, they all tested negative after undergoing RT-PCR (reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction) tests. Therefore, we have zero Covid cases at OsMak,” she said, noting that a 75-year-old resident was the last Covid-19 patient
A policeman and a fugitive were killed while two others were wounded in a shootout that erupted during the serving of an arrest warrant in Lamitan City, Basilan on Tuesday. Maj. Nurhaib Bungkac, Lamitan police chief, on Wednesday, identified the fatalities as Cpl. Nizar Alijam, a member of the Philippine National Police-Special Action Force (PNP-SAF), and Jerry Harain alias Borhan Harain, the city’s fifth most wanted person. Wounded were Staff Sgt. Sabas Banatao, also a member of the PNP-SAF, and a 15-year-old boy. Bungkac said the shootout took place around 12 noon Tuesday in Barangay Baas, Lamitan City. Bungkac said
Portland Trail Blazers guard CJ McCollum has been diagnosed with collapsed lung injury, the NBA team said on Tuesday. “Upon further examination, a CT scan revealed that Trail Blazers guard CJ McCollum has a pneumothorax (collapsed lung),” the team announced. “McCollum sustained the injury during the 4th quarter of Portland’s game versus Boston on December 4,” the Trail Blazers said in a statement. The Western Conference franchise added that the 30-year-old player’s return to the game is now uncertain. “He will be further evaluated before a prognosis is determined and his status will be updated accordingly.” McCollum suffered from a
