Monday, April 5, 2021

Use hotels as treatment centers, doctors urge gov’t. Inquirer Newsletter. April 6, 2021.

News

Lower rates expected in revised water deal

Manila Water Co. Inc. has reached an agreement with the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) that will allow it to retain its East Zone concession until 2037, but under revised terms that Malacañang said were meant to protect the interests of consumers and the government. —STORY BY Ronnel W. Domingo and Leila B. Salaverria @Team_Inquirer

Lifestyle Wellness

She quit exercise when she had kids; now they’re her fitness motivation

Monette Bata-Garcia’s fitness journey sounds familiar enough. Encouraged by her mom, she was always active even as a child. She was part of a swimming club at age 10 and was also enrolled in a gym. —STORY BY Cheche V. Moral @missyrabul

Newsletter / Join us

Has this been forwarded by a friend? Subscribe now to the Philippine Daily Inquirer Newsletter and get your latest news and important updates on COVID-19.

Banner Story

Use hotels as treatment centers, doctors urge gov’t

By Maricar Cinco, Leila B. Salaverria and Dona Z. Pazzibugan @Team_Inquirer

With coronavirus (COVID-19) cases rising rapidly since last week and overwhelming hospitals in Metro Manila, medical doctors have pushed for “out-of-the-box” measures to contain the raging virus, including the conversion of hotels into isolation units for patients, in a near-desperate call for help.

“We see patients, like some needing dialysis, left sitting (in the hallways) because there are no more beds. We couldn’t turn them away because they have to be managed (by a doctor), but a problem is people, health-care workers, [who] are all so overwhelmed already,” said Dr. Maricar Limpin, vice president of the Philippine College of Physicians (PCP).

The Philippines has experienced a recent surge in COVID-19 cases, which prompted the government to place Metro Manila and its four adjacent provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna and Rizal under an enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), the strictest lockdown level, for two weeks to stem the spread of the virus.

A total of some 800,000 cases has so far been recorded and researchers expect the number to reach one million before the end of the month, based on current projections.

Hospitals in Metro Manila are currently swamped with patients, with lines forming outside the emergency rooms.

In a phone interview on Monday, Limpin said the PCP sent a letter to President Duterte over the weekend, pleading for assistance like additional medicines and manpower, and suggesting ways to unburden hospitals handling COVID-19 patients.

“This time, we could use these (hotels) as hospitals and put equipment in there like IV (intravenous) lines. Many sick people are going to one hospital [after] another only to die along the way,” she said. —WITH REPORTS FROM TINA G. SANTOS AND NESTOR CORRALES

Editorial

Dying outside hospital

The One Hospital Command Center is a stark failure. DOH Undersecretary Leopoldo Vega admitted that the number was sometimes unreachable because it supposedly did not have a call forwarding feature.

Read full story: opinion.inquirer.net