On anniversary of first nurse death due to COVID-19, group renews call for nurses’ protection

The group Filipino Nurses United on Thursday reiterated its call for increased protection of health workers amid the rising cases of COVID-19 in the country.

In a statement, FNU said the pandemic continues to cause misery to health workers and their families. It has “constantly put their safety at great risk and even claimed lives needlessly.”

“FNU reiterates its call for adequate protection, just compensation and benefits for nurses, doctors and other health workers especially when they get sick in line of duty,” the group said.

Noting that its statement is released on the anniversary of the first death of a nurse to COVID-19 in the Philippines, the group also called for a mass hiring of nurses and essential health workers with “decent salaries, benefits and job security to ensure retention and continuity.”

“As health professionals, we deserve to be given an accurate picture of this crisis that directly puts our lives in danger. We deserve an explanation and an assurance of concrete plan and immediate action by the authorities in charge,” the group said.

Further, FNU said the health crisis cannot be attributed to the virus alone, saying the year-long incompetence and deficiencies in the COVID-19 response as “the bigger reason for the failure to effectively reign in the pandemic.”

The group said as long as there is no comprehensive government COVID-19 response such as free mass testing, systematic contact tracing, and improved quarantine services in combination with economic support for the public, “the hard lockdown and militaristic approaches will never work to resolve this pandemic.”

“How did other countries manage to control the pandemic even before the rolling out of vaccines? They have leaders who are competent, sincere and determined to save the people from the scourge of the pandemic,” it said.

“Our country is in need of the same kind of leadership and management to get us out of this health crisis.”

On Monday, President Rodrigo Duterte played down criticisms of the government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, saying other countries are also placed under lockdown.

Meanwhile, Dr. Jaime Almora, the president of the Philippine Hospital Association, said hospitals are already "overwhelmed and overrun," mainly due to their depleted and overworked manpower.

The severity of the situation prompted Almora to say that the country has already "lost" amid the war against the coronavirus.

However, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the country is not losing its battle against COVID-19.

The country has so far recorded 756,199 confirmed cases of COVID-19 including 138,948 active cases, 603,948 recoveries and 13,303 deaths. — Ma. Angelica Garcia/BM, GMA News