Cebu execs send ‘emergency medicines’ to provincial, district hospitals
CEBU CITY – The Cebu provincial government has distributed “emergency medicines” in 16 government-owned hospitals in the province that are swamped with patients suspected to have been infected with COVID-19.
Data from the Cebu Provincial Health Office showed that among those sent to the four provincial hospitals and 12 district hospitals across Cebu were Remdesevir, Dexamethasone, Tocilizumab, and Azithromycin.
While there are still no known medicines that cure COVID-19, these drugs are often used in the management of persons infected with the virus.
Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia approved the purchase of 860 ampules of Remdesivir, most of which were given to the hospitals with the highest number of COVID-19 infections.
The province also distributed 920 ampules of Dexamethasone, 50 ampules of the more expensive Tocilizumab, and 16,000 tablets of Azithromycin.
It is not yet known how much the provincial government spent for the purchase of these medicines.
Aside from medicines, the Capitol also distributed eight ventilators for the four provincial hospitals while at least 40 hi-flow nasal cannula machines were also sent to the different district hospitals.
All of the 16 hospital facilities operated by the provincial government also received 380 oxygen tanks and 78 boxes of rapid antigen test kits.
Cebu-based companies like Carmen Copper also donated to the province additional four ventilators while the SM Group donated an additional one ventilator and one ultrasound machine.
Garcia promised to help provincial and district hospitals in Cebu manage COVID-19 patients in the province.
As of August 23, Cebu province has 6,044 active cases of COVID-19, the highest in Central Visayas, according to the Department of Health.
Since the start of the pandemic in March 2020, Cebu recorded 28,837 coronavirus cases with 21,459 recoveries and 1,334 deaths.
As of the 15th of August, 295 of the 374 COVID-19 beds in the province have been occupied by patients.
