More than 250 NKTI health workers contract COVID-19 since January
National Kidney and Transplant Institute (NKTI)
MANILA, Philippines – New coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19, has infected 255 health workers of the National Kidney Transplant Institute (NKTI) since January, hospital Executive Director Dr. Rose Marie Rosete-Liquete disclosed Monday.
Rosete-Liquete expressed alarm over this data, as she noted that this number already surpassed half of the total NKTI health workers hit by the coronavirus in 2020.
“’Yung 255 na ‘yon, ikumpara po natin last year na mga less than 500 lamang in a year. Itong 255 eh wala pang kalahating taon. Doon ho kami worried,” she said in an interview over ABS CBN’s Teleradyo.
(The 255 health workers, if we compare it last year, we only have less than 500 in a year. This 255 is less than half a year. This is worrisome.)
“Hindi man sila sabay-sabay, pero nitong Marso at Abril, eh nag-a-average kami ng 6 to 10 health workers na nagpo-positive,” she added.
(They may not test positive at the same time, but in March and April, the number of those who test positive average at 6 to 10 health workers.)
Rosete-Liquete also said NKTI continues to see high volume of COVID-19 patients in its emergency room, with some waiting inside tents.
Over the weekend, the Philippine Red Cross set up a 20-bed emergency ward within the NKTI compound.
This developed after reports emerged that some patients at NKTI had been sleeping on the ground outside the hospital building due to a lack of available beds.
As of April 23, data from the Department of Health showed 22 hospitals in the National Capital Region have declared 100 percent COVID-19 bed occupancy while 42 others hit the critical level.
– Liezelle Soriano Roy, trainee
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