Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 25) — Four health workers in Baguio City have the coronavirus disease, the city government announced on Saturday, amid concerns from the World Health Organization about the high infection rate among the country’s medical frontliners.
To prevent the spread of the virus, Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong ordered a lockdown of Woodsgate Subdivision Camp 7 and barangays Santo Tomas Proper, BGH Compound, San Luis and Sector 5 Domonican-Mirador, where the patients live or had visited recently.
The city’s public information office in a Facebook post said the patients are two doctors, a nurse, and a clerk at the Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center (BGHMC).
The WHO raised the alarm over the number of infected healthcare workers in the country. Dr. Abdi Mahamud, WHO-Western Pacific Region COVID-19 incident manager, said he is working with the DOH to find out if a possible shortage of personal protective equipment is causing this trend.
Of this number, more than 1,000 are healthcare workers. Twenty-six of them, including 20 doctors, succumbed to the viral illness.
“All patients are confined at the BGHMC and are stable,” the statement read.
The DOH has maintained that it is following protocols on the use of PPE sets for medical frontliners. The agency is also working with local manufacturers to produce more of these protective gear.
They are among eight new COVID-19 cases in the city.
BGHMC chief Dr. Ricardo Ruñez said the hospital has begun tracing those who had contact with the patients and are preparing their staff for testing.
“We will start disinfecting wards, have advised to temporarily stop admissions and communicating with other hospitals for this matter. We will continue with the triage,” Ruñez told Magalong, according to the city government.
The Department of Health’s official tracker shows that six COVID-19 patients are admitted in Baguio City, one died, and 11 others got well, for a total of 18 cases. The DOH has said the data it releases are not real-time since they have to conduct validation before reporting.
Baguio has been praised for its infection prevention and control measures as it earlier only recorded a new infection for nearly two weeks. It reported another case on April 10, and Magalong has ordered a lockdown of all four barangays where the patient, a street sweeper, had gone to.
Nationwide, the number of COVID-19 cases rose to 7,294 on Saturday with 494 deaths and 792 recoveries.
