Negros Occidental, Ilocos Sur COVID bed, oxygen shortages loom

MANILA, Philippines — Beds allotted for COVID patients in Negros Occidental and Ilocos Sur are almost at full capacity.

Negros Occidental provincial administrator Rayfrando Diaz said 35 beds allocated for COVID patients at the Valladolid District Hospital are now 100 percent occupied while the 80 beds at the Cadiz District Hospital are 80 percent full.

The management of the Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Hospital in Bacolod announced that it would limit admission of non-COVID cases since its beds are almost full.

The three hospitals have been designated as treatment facilities for patients with severe symptoms.

Diaz said the provincial government purchased P5 million worth of medical oxygen, which has been in demand, as cases surged.

Negros Occidental recorded 1,284 active infections on Tuesday.

Gov. Jose Eugenio Lacson said the increase in cases was due to local transmission of the highly infectious Delta variant.

With 2,084 active cases in Ilocos Sur, Gov. Ryan Luis Singson said oxygen supply is running short in some hospitals.

“Talagang nagkukulang sa dami ng na-admit na COVID patients. Karamihan sa aming mga pasyente nahihirapan huminga,” Singson said in an interview over Teleradyo.

He said the provincial hospital, Gabriela Silang General Hospital, has stopped accepting COVID patients.

Singson said 11 Delta cases were detected in the province, all of them active.

He said the surge in cases has taken a toll on healthcare workers, with more than 200 of them infected. – Emmanuel Tupas, Eva Visperas