INSIDE THE COVID WARD Health-care workers remain busy at a dedicated facility of the Philippine General Hospital (PGH). —RICHARD A. REYES
After struggling to cope since the start of the pandemic, the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) has declared its COVID-19 manpower crisis “over” as it noted declining infections among its health workers.
As the country’s main referral hospital for COVID-19 cases, the PGH said in a public advisory released on Oct. 7 that it was no longer having difficulties in personnel deployment caused by previous case surges. It cited data from its Hospital Infection Control Unit (Hicu) showing a decrease in admissions and infections among its workers.
“The crisis period which threatened manpower capacity declared by [the] PGH administration last January 2022 is over,” said the Hicu in the advisory.
In January this year, the Omicron surge drove admissions to as many as 824, exceeding the hospital’s 350-bed capacity. That same month, infections among PGH staff members reached a high of 1,039.
Since then, the occupancy rate has significantly dipped, with the lowest recorded at 49 admissions in June before rising again to 147 in September.
By March, infected personnel dropped to just four to six a month later. A “mini surge” caused by the entry of the fast-spreading Omicron sublineages was observed in July.
“Because of the [trends], the Hicu recommends that the PGH manpower crisis situation be declared over and (that there should already be a) return to conventional mode,” the advisory stated.
The dwindling COVID-19 numbers and the confident pronouncements of the World Health Organization that the pandemic is nearing its end prompted the PGH to revert to more relaxed protocols in patient care. It also adjusted the learning and teaching activities of faculty, trainees and employees.
“As we saw in our past successful hurdles of surges through the last 30 months, cooperation and commitment of all individuals for the greater good is key to overcome this pandemic and still attend to the needs of all other patients,” added the Hicu statement.
Majority of the staff had been fully vaccinated at 97 percent, while those who had received their first boosters accounted for 84 percent.
Marcos: Get your boosters
Meanwhile, on Thursday, President Marcos called on the public to take their booster shots following the detection of the “highly immune-evasive” Omicron subvariant XBB and variant XBC in the country.
“Get your booster shot so that all infections will decline and we can open all businesses; no more protocols, no more plastic,” Mr. Marcos said in a speech during the 75th Diamond Charter Day of Ormoc City.
The President said “a wall of immunity” was needed to fully reopen the economy and further ease the COVID-19 restrictions in the country.
Low vaccination rates
In his visit to Ormoc City, the President cited the city as having a low vaccination rate with only 33 percent of the eligible population who received their booster shots.
“It is essential that we increase that rate to 50 percent so that we have what is called a wall of immunity. Let’s help each other. This is very important and we can do a lot right away,” he said.
While he acknowledged that wearing a face mask was already optional in noncrowded areas outdoors, he urged the public to still follow the COVID-19 protocols.
In September, he signed Executive Order No. 3, allowing the optional wearing of face masks in noncrowded areas outdoors.
“We are no longer being careful and we forget that the pandemic is still here. It has become weak and it will become weaker if we get a booster shot,” he said.
“So let us prioritize our health so that with renewed vigor and with renewed strength, we can act unrestrained in our efforts to bring forth a better, a brighter, and more united Philippines for everyone,” he added.
DOH warning
The Department of Health (DOH) warned early this week that COVID-19 cases could reach 18,000 per day by Nov. 15 if the public continues to ignore the minimum public health standards.
Dr. Ted Herbosa, chairperson of the Department of Emergency Medicine at UP-PGH, told the Laging Handa public briefing that cases could be at a “steady” range 2,000 to 3,000.
But he said that since the genome sequencing that detected the XBB and XBC subvariants took one week, it is possible that there were more cases of the two strains already or that they have caused current hospitalizations.
He urged the public, especially the elderly and sickly, to also continue wearing face masks outdoors, especially in crowded areas to avoid catching and transmitting COVID-19 during the All Saints’ Day break and Christmas season.
“[Those who are doing] Christmas shopping, we have to be wary. And in the cemetery which is an open area, if there are lots of people, it’s important, I think, that we should still wear our masks,” he added.
Children in in-person classes starting next month should be instructed not to remove their face masks while inside the campus and avoid eating together.
READ: PGH temporarily stops emergency room admissions