Tagbilaran emergency office to inaugurate COVID-19 center

TAGBILARAN CITY – The Emergency Operations Center (EOC) in this city will inaugurate Friday a unified data and response center for COVID-19 matters.

Provincial Disaster Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) chief Anthony Damalerio said the EOC would collect data from various agencies and hospitals across the province and serve as a 24-hour communication line between the public and health authorities. It is intended to help decongest hospitals in the city.

“The center will provide real-time data about the occupancies and vacancies of rooms and beds in city hospitals. Those that have mild or moderate symptoms, we can have them handled by municipalities. If real-time data shows that hospital beds or rooms are fully occupied, we can divert patients to the nearest hospital with available beds that can cater to COVID-19 cases,” Damalerio said in an interview.

The EOC will be managed by personnel from the Provincial Health Office, the Department of Health (DOH), and the Governor Celestino Gallares Memorial Hospital (GCGMH).

Damalerio said the EOC would also cater to other medical concerns, not just COVID-19 matters.

“Our goal here is to decongest city hospitals, that is why the EOC will also cater to non-COVID cases,” he said.

Bohol Inter-Agency Task Force spokesperson, Dr. Yul Lopez said Wednesday that hospitals in the province are 80 to 90 percent full.

The Intensive Care Unit of GCGMH is already 100 percent full, Lopez said.

The EOC can be reached through the following numbers: 0917-510-1490 for Globe; 0949-795-5530 for Smart; and 0925-830-0117 for Sun.

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