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PGH emergency room to remain closed Monday after fire

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ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2021/news/05/16/20210516-pgh-fire.jpg"/><figcaption>Patients at the Philippine General Hospital were evacuated after a fire began in the facility&#x27;s third floor.<em> Heart Response Team</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>MANILA <strong>(UPDATE) </strong>- The Philippine General Hospital&#x27;s emergency room will remain closed Monday following a fire that displaced hundreds of its patients, its spokesman said.</p><p>Fire razed a portion of the third floor of the country&#x27;s largest COVID-19 referral center on Sunday. The blaze began in the hospital&#x27;s operating room sterilization area, according to Dr. Jonas del Rosario.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/05/16/21/bahagi-ng-philippine-general-hospital-nasunog">Bahagi ng Philippine General Hospital, nasunog</a></li></ul><p>Some medical instruments were damaged but the operating rooms are intact, he said.</p><p>There were 153 patients occupying the hospital&#x27;s 250 COVID-19 beds. Around 100 virus and non-COVID patients alike were evacuated from the upper floors of the hospital to different areas including the emergency room as smoke rose from the third floor, Del Rosario said. </p><p>All of them have been returned to their designated wards and rooms, he said Monday.</p><p>&quot;Pwede pa rin po tumanggap. Although humingi kami ng pahintulot sa government, ngayong araw lang ito, hindi kami makakatanggap. Ang emergency room, sinara muna namin,&quot; he told ABS-CBN&#x27;s TeleRadyo.</p><p>(We can still accept patients. Although we&#x27;ve asked government that for today only, we can&#x27;t admit them. We&#x27;ve temporarily closed our emergency room.)</p><p>&quot;Hopefully, by tomorrow, we will reopen the emergency room,&quot; he said in another interview on ANC&#x27;s Matters of Fact.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1686322" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div><p>The PGH has also suspended all surgical operations, Del Rosario added.</p><p>&quot;We’re just praying that not a lot of instruments were destroyed and we can resume normal operations within 24 to 48 hours,&quot; he said.</p><p>&quot;We’re just making an inventory. We can’t suspend operations for a long time.&quot;</p><p>PGH Medical Director Dr. Gap Legaspi later said in a public briefing that the fire did not affect the hospital’s commitment and capacity to receive COVID-19 patients.</p><p>He said PGH is set to resume admissions by Tuesday.</p><p>The Bureau of Fire Protection and the Department of Public Works and Highways on Monday morning are set to investigate and evaluate what caused the blaze, according to Del Rosario.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1686327" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div><p>Twelve premature babies were transferred to Sta. Ana Hospital, said its medical director Dr. Grace Padilla. Ten were transferred early Sunday, and the hospital was able to take in 2 critical babies on Sunday afternoon, she said.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/ancx/culture/spotlight/05/17/21/how-this-pgh-nurse-saved-35-newborn-babies-in-weekend-fire">How this PGH nurse saved 35 newborn babies in weekend fire</a></li></ul><p>The hospital fed the newborns pasteurized milk from the city&#x27;s milk bank at the Jose Abad Santos Hospital, she added.</p><p>Mothers may donate to the milk bank or to the PGH ORTOLL Reproductive Center, officials said.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/05/16/21/food-water-face-masks-fans-vp-robredo-up-appeal-for-donation-after-pgh-fire">&#x27;Food, water, face masks, fans&#x27;: VP Robredo, UP appeal for donation after PGH fire</a></li></ul><p>The babies wore two nametags for proper identification, they added.</p><p>&quot;May tags po sila. Kilala po ng ating nurses ang lahat ng babies. Very particular po kami sa identification ng bawat isa,&quot; Del Rosario said.</p><p>In-kind and cash donations may be coursed through the PGH and the Bayanihan Na operations center at 155-200, he said.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1686323" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>

<p>The Philippine General Hospital's emergency room will remain closed Monday following a fire that displaced hundreds of its patients, its spokesman said.</p>

The Philippine General Hospital's emergency room will remain closed Monday following a fire that displaced hundreds of its patients, its spokesman said.