TACLOBAN CITY –– At least 22 health workers, including six doctors and eight nurses, in two government-run hospitals, were the latest victims of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Eastern Visayas.
Dr. Minerva Molon, director of the Department of Health in Eastern Visayas (DOH-8), said the two emergency rooms of the Eastern Visayas Regional Medical Center (EVRMC) located in Magsaysay Boulevard and Barangay Cabalawan were “indefinitely closed” for disinfection at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.
She said they had yet to decide if there was a need to also close the Leyte Provincial Hospital (LPH) in Palo town, where two nurses and two other health personnel also contracted the virus.
At the EVRMC, six doctors, five nurses, a nursing attendant, and six employees, tested positive for (COVID-19).
EVRMC, which has a 500-bed capacity, is being run by the DOH.
The LPH, on the other, is managed by the provincial government.
John Paul Roca, DOH-8 information officer, said all health personnel who tested positive for COVID-19 were immediately quarantined.
“We have to know who could have infected our health workers,” he said.
At the moment, EVRMC will not be accepting new patients.
As of June 16, Eastern Visayas has 264 COVID-19 cases.