Ospital ng Maynila shut over COVID-19

Due to the growing number of health workers infected by the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at the Ospital ng Maynila, Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso on Thursday ordered the temporary closure of the city-funded medical center starting today.

The hospital on Quirino Avenue will be closed for 10 days or until Aug. 9, to stop the virus from further spreading and to give way to disinfection procedures.

Domagoso said that among the medical front-liners who had tested positive for COVID-19, 11 were hospitalized while four were under home quarantine.

On the other hand, 32 others were still waiting for the results of their tests while 58 people had been identified as their close contacts.

“To our fellow Manila citizens, we’re asking you not to bring patients from July 31 to Aug. 9 except for matters that involve life and death,” Domagoso said in a press briefing.

Exemptions would be made for critical cases such as accidents and childbirth. Hemodialysis sessions at the hospital, as well as telemedicine, will go on as scheduled, he added. Radiology and serology testing at its laboratories will also continue.

Patients currently confined at the Ospital ng Maynila will keep on receiving medical attention, but new patients not covered by the exemptions will be referred to the five other public hospitals in the city.

Aside from the city-run hospitals, Manila has 12 quarantine facilities. There are isolation facilities specifically for mild and asymptomatic patients, dialysis patients diagnosed with the virus, pregnant women with COVID-19 and individuals who are waiting for the results of swab tests.

As of Tuesday, a total of 4,691 medical front-liners had tested positive for the coronavirus, based on data from the Department of Health. Of the total, 1,121 were active cases.