Frontliner Dr. Tricia Robredo shares heartbreaking COVID-19 cases she handled

Dr. Tricia Robredo, daughter of Vice President Leni Robredo, conducts a swab test as part of the Swab Cab project in Malabon in April 2021. (Photo from the Facebook page of Malabon Mayor Antolin Oreta III)

MANILA, Philippines — Frontliner Dr. Tricia Robredo, daughter of Vice President Leni Robredo, shared on Instagram on Monday stories about severe COVID-19 cases she had encountered that reflected how serious the pandemic had become.

One patient had difficulty breathing and died the following day. Another had to go to several hospitals that turned him away due to overcapacity. And another one was lucky enough to get into a hospital, but then it was already too late.

Robredo had her first COVID-19 patient on May 3, when Metro Manila was still under modified enhanced community quarantine. The patient consulted her because he had difficulty breathing.

READ: Patricia Robredo on Instagram

“He was quite stubborn, but he was largely afraid of the bills even with offers of assistance. He wasn’t earning much with M/ECQ,” Robredo narrated.

“But he asks for help the next morning. Our response team immediately takes a detour to his residence, only to find a lifeless body next to a wife who tried to [give him] CPR,” she added.

On Aug. 13, barely a week after the implementation of an enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in Metro Manila, Robredo said she received a distress call from a patient’s wife.

“Tank running low, husband deteriorating, no hospital taking them in. Responders were in the middle of another dispatch at the opposite end of the bubble, so we tried to coordinate with the LGU first. They said there’s nothing they can do even with an oxygen refill. Like crematoriums, hospitals are also full. I wish they’re kidding, but I know they’re not,” she said, writing partly in Filipino.

“He eventually finds a hospital in Manila, but he expires six hours later,” she added.

On Aug. 14, Robredo received another distress call from a patient.

“They called for a new patient. Her in-law with no comorbidity but was undergoing desaturation. We lent a tank while three different groups tried to look for hospitals. But they could not find one. Not even for a walk-in, not even when they pleaded,” Robredo said.

“I woke up this morning to the in-law’s text saying they were now just staying at home. It was the grandfather himself who asked them to just accept the situation because he was already tired,” she added.

What prompted her to share these cases, Robredo said, was to show how “heavy and frustrating” the past few weeks had been amid the worsening COVID-19 situation in the country.

“We thought we saw the worst of the surge back in April/May but the past two weeks have been just as heavy and frustrating. It’s difficult to describe, but I hope these capture it somehow,” she said.

As of Aug. 16, the Department of Health (DOH) has recorded a total of 1,755,846 COVID-19 cases, after logging more than 14,000 new cases for the third consecutive day. Active infections are currently at 106,672, while deaths are at 30,366.

Meanwhile, on Sunday, the DOH also announced the detection of the first case of the Lambda variant in the country. The total recorded cases of the Delta is 809 as of this writing.

Both variants are said to be more transmissible than the other existing variants of COVID-19.

Metro Manila is under enhanced community quarantine from Aug. 6 to 20 due to the rising cases of the Delta variant.

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