Manila's Abad Santos hospital resuming operations —DOH

The Justice Jose Abad Santos General Hospital (JJASGH) is set to resume its operations on Sunday, a day after its temporary closure due to an increase in COVID-19 infections among its patients and healthcare workers, the Department of Health (DOH) said.

“As per Dr. Pangan of the Manila City Health Office, the said facility will open within the day,” the DOH said in a statement on Sunday.

The hospital’s temporary closure took effect at 8 p.m. on Saturday.

The management explained that the number of COVID-19 patients getting admitted was greater than the number of beds in their hospital, thus they needed to temporarily close to get the patients discharged or transferred to quarantine facilities with the help of the Manila Health Department.

The DOH confirmed this, noting that JJASGH’s initiative was “ to transfer patients with mild cases to the nearby isolation facilities.”

Earlier on Sunday, the OCTA Research group reported that the hospital bed occupancy for COVID-19 in the National Capital Region has increased to 41% , that is from 1,381 on December 24 to 1,942 on December 31.

The JJASGH also advised people to go to other public hospitals in Manila City as many of their staff were also infected with COVID-19.

“The Department of Health lauds the quick response of the Manila City Health Office, which is consistent with our protocols,” the DOH statement added.

The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases has placed the National Capital Region under Alert Level 3 from January 3 to 15, 2022, following the sharp increase in new COVID-19 cases.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said on Friday that the highly transmissible Omicron variant may already be responsible for this rise in COVID-19 cases in the country. —LBG, GMA News