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Limited resources affect Dinagat Islands' capacity to handle COVID-19 surge - official

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<figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/q6Tl4s-_gMM?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Video courtesy of PTV</div>MANILA - The lack of resources in Dinagat Islands affected their capacity to handle coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases, a health official noted, as the area slowly recovered from a surge in recent months. In a public press briefing, Dinagat Islands Provincial Health Officer Dr. Jillian Lee noted that the island, home to 127,000 people, does not have an accredited hospital by the DOH. Lee said the whole province only has 20 doctors, and that limited resources make it &quot;difficult&quot; to handle a surge in cases in their province. As of July 3, Dinagat Islands had 80 active COVID-19 cases out of the total 1,094 confirmed cases. They also logged 6 cases of the Beta variant in April. They noted a slower uptick in cases after a peak between May and June. However, she said these levels remain high for their health care capacity. &quot;Wala kaming ospital. Ngayon lang kami nagkaroon ng X-ray na iniinstall, 20 lang ang doktor sa buong probinsiya... Very limited ang capability ng health care system na mag-deal sa isang surge ng COVID-19 so kahit ngayon nararamdaman siya. Sa ilang lalawigan ang 80 cases kayang-kaya na nila &#x27;yan pero sa province namin high levels na siya,&quot; Lee noted. (We do not have a hospital. We just installed an X-ray machine. We only have around 20 doctors, and our capacity to deal with a surge is very limited. Other areas can handle 80 cases but for a province like ours, it&#x27;s a high-level thing.) Lee noted that the island&#x27;s district hospitals were accredited only as &quot;infirmaries&quot; due to the lack of facilities. &quot;Sa totoo lang ang health care utilization rate ng province ay hindi nagre-reflect sa stats ng DOH, since sa buong probinsiya wala kaming accredited na ospital, ang tatlo naming district hospitals, dahil sa limitations ng personnel and equipment na available [ay] accredited sila bilang infirmaries. Walang available na intensive care and mechanical ventilation,&quot; Lee said. (To be frank, our health care utilization rate does not reflect in the statistics of the DOH. We do not have an accredited hospital in the whole province. Our three district hospitals, due to the limited personnel and equipment, are only accredited as infirmaries.) &quot;Ang 10 beds na official capacity ay umaabot ng 30 patients at any given time so mataas ang utilization rate ng referral facilities ng aming 3 district hospitals,&quot; she added. (The 10-bed official capacity of the hospitals spill over to 30 patients at any given time so the utilization rate of referral facilities remains high.) It took until August 2020 for Dinagat Islands to tally its first COVID-19 cases, which were all outsiders. The island is currently under modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ), the second strictest level, due to a surge in cases over the summer. Lee attributed this increase in cases to the Inter-Agency Task Force Against COVID-19’s order to place unified travel protocols that prohibited a mandatory quarantine period. Eventually, they logged cases of community transmission as people who came from outside their borders contracted the virus. To quell the number of COVID-19 cases, they barred entry amid the COVID-19 spike. With the very limited capacity, Lee said they implemented a “no-entry” policy and reimplemented mandatory quarantine procedures, and strengthened contact tracing procedures that have significantly lowered case stats.

MANILA - The lack of resources in Dinagat Islands affected their capacity to handle coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases, a health official noted, as the area slowly recovered from a surge in recent months.

MANILA - The lack of resources in Dinagat Islands affected their capacity to handle coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases, a health official noted, as the area slowly recovered from a surge in recent months.