MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Leni Robredo revealed that the maximum daily capacity of her office’s telemedicine project got filled within minutes on Wednesday.
In a Facebook livestream on Wednesday evening, Robredo explained they limited the day’s capacity of Bayanihan E-Konsulta to 400 slots because they were undermanned.
Launched in 2021 with the private sector partners of the Office of the Vice President (OVP), the Bayanihan E-Konsulta is a volunteer-driven operation that gives access to possible COVID-19 patients access to medical professionals for consultations.
Robredo said that a few minutes after Bayanihan E-Konsulta opened at 8 a.m. Wednesday, all 400 slots have been taken.
“And ngayon nagka-cap kasi kami ng 400 cases a day, dahil syempre volunteers lang ‘yong aming doctors, ‘yong aming nurses, hindi kakayanin ‘yong dami ng pasyente,” she explained.
“So nagka-cap kami ng 400 cases, kanina lang ng umaga, ‘pag open namin ng 8 a.m., in a few minutes naka-400 cases na kami. So nagsara na siya,” she added.
Robredo apologized to people who have been trying to secure consultation slots through the Bayanihan E-Konsulta, saying they are operating on a thin workforce as many OVP staff members contracted COVID-19.
“So ‘yong mga nangangailangan ng Bayanihan E-Konsulta, ‘yong ating recommendation ay mag-register ng maaga, para makasama po kayo sa first 400 cases. Humihingi po kami ng paumanhin kasi talagang sobrang undermanned po ngayon, marami po kaming staff na nagpositive, pati po ‘yong HQ (headquarters),” she said.
“‘Yong HQ parang Monday nilockdown po natin para mag-disinfect kasi may mga nag-postive, saka proteksyon na din ng ating mga volunteers. Tapos sa Office din everyday may dagdag na nagpa-positive,” she added.
According to Robredo, it’s a good thing that they did not stop the Bayanihan E-Konsulta initiative because they have observed a spike in cases by the end of December 2021.
“So no’ng nag-spike — kasi ‘yong Bayanihan E-Konsulta hindi namin hininto. Buti na lang ‘yon ‘yong desisyon namin na hindi namin ihinto, ‘yong aming ambulansya meron na kaming permit to operate, meron kaming EMS teams, buti tuloy-tuloy ito kasi nakita namin parang from October to December, very minimal na ‘yong mga cases,” she noted.
“Pero itong end of December talagang pataas na siya,” she added.
Robredo earlier appealed for volunteers to help in the telemedicine channel. She said volunteers are badly needed at this point in order to expand the coverage of Bayanihan E-Konsulta in the wake of a notable uptick in new COVID-19 cases.
“General practitioners and doctors specializing in allergology, pediatrics-endocrinology, general surgery, pediatric surgery, internal medicine, neurology, urology, adult infectious disease, gastroenterology, developmental pediatrics, rehab medicine, and other specializations may sign up through https://bit.ly/BEK-doctor-signups,” she said in a statement earlier.
“Psychiatrists, licensed psychologists, licensed psychometricians, counselors, students of MA in Clinical Psychology and other volunteers with mental health training and experience may register at https://bit.ly/BEK-mhprofessionals-reg,” she also said.
Also earlier Wednesday, the OVP resumed the operation of its Swab Cab which is a mobile COVID-19 testing facility where people can have themselves checked for coronavirus infection for free. The OVP relaunched its Swab Cab at Tandang Sora in Quezon City and would be in the Quezon City Memorial Circle on Thursday, January 6.
Robredo has reported that 373 of 813 people, or almost 46 percent, who availed of the free antigen test at the Swab Cab operation in Tandang Sora were found positive for the SARS-CoV-2, the latest coronavirus strain that causes serious respiratory illness COVID-19.
READ: Robredo: 373 of 813 people tested through OVP’s Swab Cab positive for COVID
The country is currently dealing with a remarkable increase in coronavirus infections, which health experts fear may be due to the more infectious Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2. On Wednesday, the country’s active COVID-19 cases soared to 39,974, after the Department of Health reported 10,775 new infections — almost double the reported new cases on Tuesday, January 4, which was at 5,434.
The 10,775 increase in COVID-19 cases on January 5 is the highest since October 12, 2021, when 12,159 fresh infections were logged.
The uptick in new COVID-19 cases also prompted the national government to place Metro Manila and other nearby provinces of Bulacan, Rizal, and Cavite under Alert Level 3 until January 15.