COVID-19 patients overwhelm Batangas hospitals as Taal rumbles

Hospitals in Batangas are swamped with COVID-19 patients -- specifically those who have comorbidities -- as Taal Volcano continued rumbling on Sunday, Batangas Governor Hermilando Mandanas said.

In a Balitaan sa Maynila online press briefing, the governor said the situation is alarming as the provincial government is also beefing up contingency measures for the safety of residents that are also under threat of Taal eruption.

"Sa totoo lang, sa lalawigan ng Batangas, punong-puno ang ating ospital ng COVID-19 cases na may mga comorbidity... kaya yun ang isa sa mga concern natin," said Mandanas.

(The truth is, hospitals in the province of Batangas are overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients with comorbidity. So that is one of our concerns.)

Nonetheless, Mandanas said hospitals in Metro Manila are willing to help Batangas: " Yes, open lahat ngayon (Yes everyone is open.)"

Earlier, the governor said they will also focus their vaccination efforts on evacuees, especially those that are directly affected by Taal Volcano activities.

As of Sunday, PHIVOLCS said Taal Volcano continued to emit high levels of volcanic sulfur dioxide or SO2 as it remained under Alert Level 3 status. —LBG, GMA News