Dumaguete Mayor Felipe Antonio Remollo is not keen on a lockdown of the City, with only one positive case of the coronavirus, who is from the town of Tayasan, 109 kilometers north.
Remollo said instead of a lockdown, everybody should stay away from big crowds, especially inside rooms where there is big concentration of people.
A Philippine-style lockdown may be imposed, but a 100 percent enforcement is not possible for lack of personnel to strictly enforce it, Remollo pointed out.
This developed as hospitals in Dumaguete clarified there is no lockdown in their respective facilities and that they are merely instituting containment process even before the first positive case of CoViD-19 in Negros Oriental was confirmed by the Department of Health.
Dr. Kenneth Coo, medical director of Holy Child Hospital, and part of the Inter-Agency Task Force of CoViD-19 in Dumaguete, spoke in behalf of the Silliman University Medical Center Foundation Inc., saying that as soon as the first CoViD-19 case arrived, its intensive care unit of was already contained, and nurses had been advised not to go home to reduce the possibility of the spread of the virus.
Jessica Estrellado and Unito Bondad, SUMCFI point persons of CoViD-19, categorically declared there is no lockdown in their hospital, only a hospital- imposed quarantine for staff and health workers detailed at the ICU.
As a result of the self- imposed quarantine, SUMCFI is operating on a “low level” operation, but the Department of Health has issued directives to admit only patients who require emergency admissions who can be discharged immediately when they are in stable condition, Bondad explained.
The hallway of the isolation room is being utilized for the 23 personnel on quarantine. They are given food, and being observed.
In the meantime, Dr. Coo disclosed that hospitals in the Province are to implement a strict “No Visitor” policy, and to refuse entry of unnecessary visitors or bantays (watchers/caregivers).
The doctors have called on everybody to practice hand hygiene as often as possible using alcogel, or alcohol, practice proper coughing etiquette with the use of face mask, practice healthy lifestyle, have enough and proper rest to reman healthy, not to visit any hospital if its not necessary, and if experiencing a mild respiratory or gastro entestinal symptoms like diarrhea must call a doctor, no need to go to the hospital.
Mayor Remollo enjoined everybody to be honest with their health conditions to help battle against contamination. He stressed that Dumaguete is still blessed with no single case of the coronavirus, except that the case in Tayasan was brought to the hospital in the City.
Dr. Brenda Diputado, medical director of Ace Doctors Hospital, belied claims that there was deception in transferring their patient to the SUMC.
She said it was never their plan to deceive the other hospital, knowing that it violates standard health industry protocols.
She said Tayasan Councilor Hermie Cerna was admitted to Ace Hospital for diarrhea and vomiting, not typical of the coronavirus infection.
But as his health condition worsened three days later, it was only by March 9, Dr. Diputado said, that they learned that the patient had a travel history in Singapore, and had recently attended the Philippine Councilors League national convention and election in Manila.
She explained that an emergency meeting was conducted by Ace Hospital authorities to implement the protocols, and immediately extracted swab samples from the patient under investigation, and submitted to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine.
She said there were suggestions to transfer the patient to the Vicente Sotto Hospital in Cebu, or to transport him through an air ambulance to RITM in Muntinlupa.
However, it was the patient’s sister, a medical doctor in Manila who noted her brother’s deteriorating health condition, who decided to transfer him to SUMC.
Diputado explained that Ace Hospital has no legal basis to prevent relatives from transferring their patient to another hospital of their choice, and so have waived their rights over the patient.
Dr. Diputado clarified that the communication to transfer their patient was between the ICUs of the two hospitals, but that when the patient arrived at SUMC, he was wrongly rushed to the emergency room.
She said it should not have been the case because the patient had already been admitted for two days at Ace Hospital.
Dr. Coo said the patient is in a comorbid condition, being a kidney transplant patient and a senior citizen, complicating with the coronavirus infection. (Juancho Gallarde)