PHILIPPINE health facilities are now at risk of being overwhelmed following confirmed reports of the local transmission of the Delta variant of Covid-19, health experts warned at the weekend.
The Department of Health-Technical Advisory Group issued the statement as it urged the government to beef up its response against the Delta variant, which was blamed for the fresh surge in Covid-19 cases abroad.
DOH-TAG member Edsel Salvana said the Delta variant is currently the “fastest and the fittest” variant of SARS-Cov-2 making efforts to contain it urgent.
“It is three times more contagious than the original SARS-CoV-2 virus. It also seems to be deadlier and this will be worse if the healthcare system is overwhelmed. Patients also seem to get sicker and younger ages can also develop severe disease,” Salvana said during the public address of President Duterte at the weekend.
He issued the statement after DOH confirmed last week the local transmission of the Delta variant.
This prompted the government to reimpose stricter commumity quarantine classifications in some areas including Metro Manila.
Minors were again banned from going outside their homes and curfew hours in the National Capital Region were extended, and now run from 10pm to 4am.
As of Saturday, DOH said it registered 64 Delta cases nationwide.
To prevent the local spread of the said variant, the DOH-TAG recommended for stricter implementation of the border control “to slow entry of more individuals who are positive not just for Delta but also other variants of concern that may be discovered in the future.”
It also urged the government to ensure private hospitals will allocate 30 percent of their beds for Covid-19 patients, and for government hospitals, 50 percent of their beds.
These hospitals beds should be augmented by temporary treatment and monitoring facilities (TTMF) and intensive care units as well as the necessary resources.
“We need to equip our hospitals by providing them with health human resources, with the appropriate equipment, with oxygen supply, and we will be able to maintain their capacity if we triage appropriately by providing enough TTMF facilities,” DOH-TAG Anna Lisa Ong-Lim said.
Ong-Lim also suggested that government intensify its disease surveillance, localized lockdowns, as well as vaccination drive especially for those vulnerable to Covid-19, including senior citizens and those with comorbidities.
Salvana said the spread of the Delta variant could be prevented through strict public compliance with minimum health standards.
“It is beatable with our minimum health standard, face shield, face mask, physical distancing and, of course, we have to vaccinate everyone,” Salvana said.
Image courtesy of Nonie Reyes
Read full article on BusinessMirror
