Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 25) – A medical group in Negros Oriental is appealing to authorities to place the province under the strictest form of lockdown, saying the healthcare system is buckling due to a rapid rise in COVID-19 cases.
The Negros Oriental Medical Society said in a statement that a shift to an enhanced community quarantine can help bring reprieve to hospitals on the brink of collapse.
“Give us time to reset,” it said in a social media post last weekend. “Please do something before healthcare collapses.”
Dr. Joven Occeña, the group’s president, told CNN Philippines on Tuesday they are recommending at least two to three weeks of hard lockdown. He said virtually all of the major medical facilities in the province have declared full capacity.
Based on data from the regional office of the Department of Health, Negros Oriental has the highest number of active cases in Central Visayas at 1,085 as of May 24. On May 21 alone, infections in the province rose by 204.
Meanwhile, echoing the call for a time-out is the Philippine College of Physicians (PCP) Negros Oriental Chapter.
“Our average daily attack rate is currently at 8.12 (critical level is more than 7), and hospital bed capacity occupancy is near 100%, all of which are qualifiers for the call of a higher form of quarantine,” it said in a statement.
“Our healthcare system is screaming, and we hope you heed the call,” it added.
Both Occeña and the PCP-Negros Oriental acknowledged the economic impact of ECQ, however, and listed other ways that could possibly help address the surge.
“We have to follow the protocols,” Occeña said in an interview on News Night, addressing Negrenses. “If we do that, I do believe we don’t need to somehow have very strict quarantine protocols. If you will just stay at home and go (out) only when necessary, then we have a chance of surviving this.”
Besides stricter adherence to COVID-19 rules, the PCP-Negros Oriental said a faster vaccine rollout and better implementation of existing guidelines can also help improve the situation.
COVID-19 Inter-Agency Task Force-Visayas chief implementer Mel Feliciano told CNN Philippines they are studying the recommendation to shift to ECQ, but added health authorities have already implemented appropriate measures to prevent a further spike in cases in the province.
CNN Philippines Digital Producer Kristel Limpot and Dumaguete-based Correspondent Roy Bustillo contributed to this report.
