Monday, May 31, 2021

https://www.sunstar.com.ph/

https://www.sunstar.com.ph/

Mayor: Transport of some Covid-19 patients delayed

Posted: 31 May 2021 06:46 AM PDT

DUE to the recent surge in Covid-19 cases in Davao City, Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio said there are some delays in transporting confirmed Covid-19 patients to temporary treatment and monitoring facilities (TTMFs).

This was one of the challenges the mayor cited during her radio interview on Monday, May 31, following the recent surge of cases in the city.

"Tungod sa kadaghan, duna gyuy delay sa pagkuha sa mga patients nga need og isolation (Due to the surge of cases, it is expected that there will be delays in transporting patients to the isolation facilities). Plus the fact na (that) because of a surge, tag hundreds sa isa ka adlaw ang ma-positive, duna puy kakulangan sa bed capacity sa TTMF (temporary treatment and monitoring facilities) (we have hundreds of daily positive new cases and it is expected that there is a possible shortage of bed capacities in our TTMF)" Duterte-Carpio said in an interview on 87.5 FM Davao City Disaster Radio.

The mayor said she already instructed the city's health response group that there is no need to pick up patients using ambulances.

"There is no need to pick them up one-by-one since positive naman na sila tanan (they are already positive). So we could use bigger vehicles to pick up positive cases," Duterte-Carpio said.

For more than a year since the pandemic, the mayor said they are still encountering the same challenges in its Covid-19 response.

She also said some patients refused to be taken to the isolation facilities.

She also said some patients wanted to choose a specific facility for him/her to be isolated, while some refused to be taken because they do not believe they are positive with the virus as they are asymptomatic or do not manifest any symptoms linked to Covid-19.

"In that case, dili na ta makiglalis sa pasyente (we won't argue with them). We immediately refer them to DOH [Department of Health]," Duterte-Carpio said.

The mayor also said that some patients are hard to find as they do not "truthfully" provide their accurate contact details and address.

"Duna pud tay pasyente nga di na makita. Lahi ang address, lahi ang contact number (We have some patients that are nowhere to be found. The address and contact number are different), and when you access the address and contact number, wala na didto ang tao (they are no longer there)," she said.

The mayor also revealed that there is also a delay in the contact tracing. Among the factors for this is test results come out after three to four days.

The mayor also added that they are having a hard time reaching out to close contact individuals.

Currently, the city has three testing centers: Davao Doctors Hospital, Southern Philippines Medical Center, and Davao One World Diagnostic Center.

But she said the city is adding two more testing centers. These include the co-managed testing machines at Brokenshire Hospital and Los Amigos Molecular Laboratory.

"Mas maayo kung mas daghan ang testing na mabuhat sa isa kadlaw para paspas makit-an dayon ang mga positive (It would be best if we get to test more individuals in a day so we could immediately detect those positive individuals), because the mayor you do your test, the more ka duna makita na positive (we get to detect more positive individuals)," Duterte-Carpio said.

The mayor recently said the city is targeting to test a minimum of 1,000 tests per day.

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SPMC expands ICU beds to 77

Posted: 31 May 2021 06:44 AM PDT

THE intensive care units (ICU) beds intended for Covid-19 patients at the Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC) have already been expanded to 77 beds from 35, but its utilization rate is still nearing full occupancy.

SPMC Chief Dr. Ricardo Audan said in a virtual presser on Monday, May 31, that the additional 42 beds were coming from converted private ward beds.

"At least, we'll put the minimum requirement for the ICU [beds]. Kinonvert namin yung (We converted our) single beds na pay ward into ICU kaya tumaas siya to 77 [beds]," he said.

As of May 30, 76 out of the 77 ICU beds or 98.7 beds are already occupied. While ward beds are also nearing full occupancy as 289 out of the 312 beds or 92.63 ward beds are already occupied. Overall SPMC has a total of 389 beds for Covid-19 patients.

SPMC's ICU beds started to be in full occupancy on May 21.

ICU bed rate reached above 80 percent on May 3, while ward beds started rising 70 percent and above on May 17.

According to SPMC and the Department of Health's (DOH's) critical utilization rate, an occupancy level that is between 71 and 100 percent is considered a "danger zone"; an occupancy rate level between 31 to 70 percent is considered a "warning zone"; and under "safe zone" when it is from 1 to 30 percent.

Meanwhile, Audan said the hospital has been consistently experiencing 130 to 140-percent occupancy in its emergency room (ER) for the past months.

"'Yung ER nga namin, tinatawag nila parang every night midnight sale. Sobrang masikip (Our ER has been compared to an every night midnight sale because it is crowded)," he said.

With this, the hospital management is now working on establishing an extension ER.

"It's ongoing wherein we will use the lobby of the outpatient department," Audan said.

In terms of manpower, he said they have no problem as the personnel in the pay ward were also deployed to cater the Covid-19 patients in the expanded rooms and beds.

He also noted that the hospital has recorded rising of non-Covid-19 cases, wherein 91 out of the 135 beds are already occupied.

Also, they are catering to adverse events following immunization (AEFI) cases for individuals experiencing side effects after being vaccinated with Covid-19 vaccines.

Audan revealed that they already have a memorandum of agreement with the Davao Doctors Hospital (DDH) to cater minor cases like appendectomy, thyroidectomy to their hospital as charity.

He is also calling the help of other private hospitals to do the same.

"This is to mitigate admission of SPMC kasi 'yun ang kanilang matutulong (as it would be of big help)," he said.

In exchange, Audan said they will also assist private hospitals by lending them 10 ventilators as long as they won't charge it to patients in case they will already open their Covid-19 beds.

Meanwhile, Audan said they are still in need of additional manpower for them to continuously expand their bed capacity for Covid-19 patients.

Despite continuously posting job positions, the SPMC chief said only a few people apply for various vacant positions.

He said the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) already deployed 25 personnel from Manila who will serve and assist as nurses, and 10 personnel from the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) in Davao City, who will serve as doctors.

The personnel from AFP and BFP were pulled out in April when the city experienced a downtrend of Covid-19 cases.

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Duterte-Carpio to Dabawenyos: Prepare for storm

Posted: 31 May 2021 06:44 AM PDT

DAVAO City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio told Dabawenyos to brace for the impact of Tropical Storm (TS) "Dante" in the city and some parts of Davao Region.

"Makit-an nato sugod ganihang buntag, dire-diretso ang pag-ulan dinhi sa atoa sa atoang syudad. Mag-watch out ta sa pagtaas sa tubig sa mga sapa, and sa posibleng overflow or pagbaha dala sa atong bagyo nga naa dinha sa dagat, wala diha sa yuta (We saw today (May 31) how it has been raining since this morning in the city. Stay alert for increasing water levels at the river and for a possible overflow due to rains brought by the storm)," Duterte-Carpio said in an interview on 87.5 FM Davao City Disaster Radio.

Duterte-Carpio said TS Dante is currently bringing heavy rain to the city and the region.

On Sunday evening, May 30, several areas in the city experienced overflow in rivers, resulting in residents being forcibly evacuated.

Duterte-Carpio said the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO) conducted pre-emptive evacuations in Barangays Talomo Proper, Calinan Proper, Bago Aplaya, and Bunawan.

Based on the initial information provided by the mayor, 90 families in the affected areas were evacuated.

With TS Dante nearby Davao Region, the mayor said CDRRMO is currently on standby for possible evacuations.

The mayor reminded the public that the strong winds might cause damage to rooftops and other properties.

She also warned of possible landslides, especially in risk areas, while heavy rains might result in floods and a rise in water levels near riverbanks.

In times of disasters and emergencies, the mayor underscored the importance of preparing a "Go Bag" or an emergency-preparedness bag, which includes food, medicine, and other important items.

The mayor added these bags must have face masks, face shields, soap, alcohols, and if possible, meter sticks, to ensure the observance of the physical distancing to help maintain observance of the health protocols.

According to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) as of 11 a.m., TS Dante slightly intensified while moving northwestward over the Philippine Sea.

"The center of Tropical Storm Dante was estimated based on all available data at 515 km east northeast of Davao City or 445 km east of Hinatuan, Surigao del Sur (8.3°N, 130.4°E)," Pagasa said.

The weather bureau added, "Maximum sustained winds of 75 km/h near the center, gustiness up to 90 km/h, and central pressure of 996 hPa."

Light to moderate with at times heavy rains will be experienced over Caraga and Davao Region, Soccsksargen, Bukidnon, and Misamis Oriental due to the outer rainbands of TS Dante.

"Under these conditions, isolated to scattered flooding (including flash floods) and rain-induced landslides are possible, especially in areas that are highly or very highly susceptible to these hazards as identified in hazard maps. Adjacent or nearby areas may also experience flooding in the absence of such rainfall occurrence due to surface runoff or swelling of river channels," Pagasa reported.

Due to TS Dante, the Municipal Governments of Compostela and Monkayo in Davao de Oro ordered the suspension of classes for both private and public schools.

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Doctor: Kidney patients finding it hard to find donors due to pandemic

Posted: 31 May 2021 06:43 AM PDT

FINDING a kidney donor for dialysis patients became more challenging amid the pandemic, a health expert said.

Philippine Society of Nephrology Mindanao Chapter President Dr. Maria Theresa Bad-ang said finding a good kidney donor for their patients is a challenge now as the donor would need to present a negative RT-PCR result.

"Pero daghan mi referrals from end of life, mga na-stroke pero usahay dili namo mahimo kay walay result (But we do get a lot of referrals from end-of-life patients, those who suffered a stroke. However, we can't do anything about it since they don't have an RT-PCR test result)," said Dr. Bad-ang.

She invited interested individuals to an Organ Donation Sign-Up on June 15, 2021 wherein individuals who want to donate their kidney after their death will be given an Organ Donor Card.

She said this way, it will be easier for the families to understand that their loved ones really wanted his/her organs donated to those who need it should something bad happen to him/her.

Details of the said Organ Donation Sign-Up will be posted soon.

As of Monday, May 31, there are already a total of 324 kidney dialysis patients at the Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC) who got positive of Covid-19.

From this number, 234 patients have already recovered, 24 patients are still admitted, and 66 individuals have died.

According to Bad-ang, in November 2020 when the Covid-19 cases among dialysis patients peaked to 70, they had to separate the Covid patients with non-Covid dialysis patients.

"Para sa mga patients on dialysis, katong nagsurge gyud ta puno ang SPMC. Gi-transfer namo ang negative sa MDRMC (Metro Davao Medical and Research Center Inc). Ang mga gi-transfer na patients wala gibayran. Kung unsa ilang benefits sa SPMC, mao pud ilang nakuha while having their dialysis sa MDRMC. Hatod sundo sila sa ilang balay sa CTTMO (City Transport and Traffic Management Office) aron dili na sila mag-jeep (For the non-Covid-19 patients on dialysis, we transferred to MDRMC. They didn't pay for anything. Whatever their benefits were at SPMC were given to them upon transfer at MDRMC. CTTMO vehicles also bring them to and from their house so they won't need to ride the public jeep)," said Dr. Bad-ang.

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Duterte-Carpio, Marcos siblings discuss politics

Posted: 31 May 2021 06:42 AM PDT

DAVAO City Mayor and presidential daughter Sara Duterte-Carpio confirmed Monday, May 31, that they discussed politics with the Marcos siblings -- Senator Imee and former Senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Jr. -- during their recent visit to Davao City.

In an interview on 87.5 FM Davao City Disaster Radio, Duterte-Carpio said the Marcoses met with her on Saturday lunch, May 29, to personally greet her on her 43rd birthday.

"When politicians gather, they'll talk about politics. Expected na na, wala kay makit-an na politicians na nagtapok na dili magistorya og politika (That is already expected from politicians when they meet, they usually discuss politics)," she said.

In a photo shared with City Hall reporters by Jefry Tupas, head of the City Information Office, the mayor and the Marcos siblings were seen laughing and having a good time over lunch that was hosted by the mayor's husband, lawyer Mans Carpio.

Duterte-Carpio, however, did not divulge any further what they talked about in particular.

"That is only what I can say (that they talked about politics) about our conversations namo didto (during the lunch)," she added.

Bongbong Marcos and Duterte-Carpio's names have been regularly appearing in elections 2020 surveys. Duterte-Carpio has been among the names of presidentiables, while Bongbong has been among the options for vice president.

The presidential daughter has been topping presidential polls conducted by various research bodies. But she repeatedly stated her unwillingness to run for the highest seat in the country in the upcoming May 2022 elections.

According to the University of Mindanao Institute of Popular Opinion (UM-IPO) online survey from March 10 to 19, 2021, results revealed that six out of 10 Dabawenyos want Duterte-Carpio to be the next president of the country.

When asked about their most preferred running mate for Duterte-Carpio, Bongbong Marcos topped the list with 36.1 percent followed by Senator Christopher Lawrence "Bong" Go (26.9 percent), and Manila Mayor Francisco "Isko Moreno" Domagoso (7.3 percent). Around 10.7 percent are still unsure.

The survey targeted Dabawenyos from the three districts of the city to know their preference for the upcoming 2022 presidential election.

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