Urgent calls for medical supplies, especially personal protective equipment (PPEs) were issued by frontline medical workers in Manila on Monday as coronavirus cases spiked and the death toll rose.
The Philippines has recorded 12 deaths from COVID-19, with four more fatalities reported Sunday, the Department of Health (DOH) said.
One of those who died in Patient No. 9, an 86-year-old American male from Marikina City, who died Saturday afternoon. He had history of travel from the US and South Korea.
A tweep, who is a medical doctor, has said on Monday that large private hospitals are now brimming with positive cases, converting wards into dedicated ones for #COVIDー19.
"Hopefully handa na rin mga public hospitals sa ganitong scenario." (Hopefully, public hospitals are ready for this scenario).
There are reports on social media that fresh PPE supplies are being held up at Customs in Manila, suggesting a need for "grease money" before they're released, but such claims cannot be independently verified.
On January 26, at the height of the COVID-19's rage in China, Philippines Senator Richard Dick Gordon raved that Philippine-made masks worth $1.4 million were shipped to Wuhan within 6 hours.
Now, the Philippines' Department of Health (DOH) — Philippine Centers for Specialized Healthcare internship program — said it was "humbly asking for donations for our front liners at the Philippine Heart Centre (PHC), Lung Center of the Philippines (LCP), National Kidney Transplant Institute (NKTI), Philippine Children's Medical Centre (PCMC ) and East Avenue Medical Centre (EAMC). Any donation is very much appreciated!"
https://twitter.com/DickGordonDG/status/1221250827907518466?s=20
140 cases, 12 deaths
The Philippines reported 29 new confirmed Covid-19 (coronavirus) outbreak cases and three new deaths on Sunday (March 15), bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 140 and death toll to 12.
Majority of the Covid-19 patients are residents of Metro Manila, home to about 12 million peope.
https://twitter.com/STPbasileo/status/1239422643117252608?s=20
13 Filipino crew of Grand Princess positive
Meanwhile, at least 13 out of 529 Filipino crewmembers of MV Grand Princess have tested positive for the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and are now undergoing treatment in an undisclosed care facility in the United States, the Department of Foreign Affairs said on Monday.
On Monday, 444 crewmembers and passengers of the ship arrived in Manila on a chartered flight from San Francisco International Airport.
Only those who were asymptomatic were allowed to board the buses that moved them to San Francisco International Airport.
The plane left the airport at around 9 pm on March 14 (March 15 in Manila) and arrived at Clark International Airport at around 2:15 am on Monday (March 16).
The repatriates were then moved on the Athletes’ Village in Clark City for the 14-day quarantine period under the guidance and attention of Department of Health (DOH) medical personnel.
