Benguet residents must expect a higher community quarantine classification in the coming days due to surging Covid-19 cases and deaths in the province the past weeks.
Gov. Melchor Diclas reported the province now has a daily average of 200 cases, which might put the province one step higher from general community quarantine to modified enhanced community quarantine status.
“The National Inter-Agency Task Force is actively monitoring the province so it might decide to upgrade our quarantine status to arrest the rising Covid-19 cases,” Diclas said.
The province has logged the highest single day Covid deaths on Sept. 20 with 15, but was unexpectedly topped the next day with 18 deaths.
Diclas said government and private hospitals and clinics are already getting overwhelmed while healthcare workers are also getting infected with Covid-19.
Around 18 doctors of Benguet General Hospital are already infected which forced the hospital management to close one of its wings for the Covid-19 ward.
The current 158 beds of BeGH are all converted for Covid-19 patients who are categorized as severe and critical.
Diclas said the 11 ventilators, five hi-flow oxygen machines of BeGH are also being used full time while it lacks oxygen supply even as all the 300 tanks are being used daily.
“We have the money ready for purchase but the problem is even the suppliers lack the supply as other hospitals are also in need of oxygen,” he said.
BeGH has put up tents within the hospital grounds to cater to emergency cases.
The hospital is also looking for additional eight doctors for residency, as some of the physicians opted to pursue advance education.
The provincial IATF has urged all 13 towns to strengthen their own isolation facilities to complement the provincial isolation facilities.
As of Sept. 23, the province has logged 15,012 confirmed cases of which 2,938 are active cases; 11,514 recoveries; and 438 deaths. – Ofelia C. Empian
April 26, 2024
