DAVAO CITY, Davao del Sur, Philippines — Forty-one 41 health workers in the Davao region have been infected with the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19), highlighting the risks faced by health professionals in the front lines of the pandemic.
Dr. Ricardo Audan, chief of clinics at Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC), said 24 of the 41 health workers who tested positive for COVID-19 were working at SPMC, the largest COVID-19 referral facility in Mindanao.
Of the 24 patients at SPMC, 12 are doctors, six are nurses and six are members of the administrative staff.
Two office staff members had died while 14 had recovered, leaving only eight patients at SPMC and other isolation centers in the city, Audan said.
In Cagayan de Oro City, health workers and suspected COVID-19 cases will be given priority for testing at Northern Mindanao Medical Center, which starts on Thursday.
—ORLANDO DINOY AND JIGGER JERUSALEM