By MB Online
Container vans will be used for preserving the bodies of patients who succumbed to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at a hospital in Quezon City as its morgue ran out of space.
(MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO)
East Avenue Medical Center (EAMC) spokesperson Dr. Dennis Ordoña earlier said that there were around 20 bodies last week at the hospital's morgue, which was built to accommodate just five bodies.
"Ipinakita sa akin iyong kanilang mahabang-mahabang container van na refrigerated para doon na muna nila ipri-preserve ang body hanggang ang kinauukulang disposition noong katawan ay maayos ang pag-implementa," Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said in an interview with DZMM Teleradyo.
"Yung sa kakulangan ng body bags, hindi naman parang nawalan, siniguro lang nila na hindi sila mawalan ng enough buffer stock. Hindi naman sila nagkulang, yun ang paliwanag nila sa akin," the health secretary added.
Duque said that the delays in the claiming of bodies prompted the hospital to put the bodies on body bags and stretchers.
He said there are now only two unclaimed cadavers left in the hospital.
The health department earlier announced that additional bags were received by EAMC Hospital Director Dr. Alfonso Nuñez on Sunday morning.
Duque, meanwhile, maintained that his agency and local governments did not issue an order to stop reporting deaths related to COVID-19.
"Unang una wala naman pong inuutos ang DOH o LGUs na huwag ilista ang mga COVID deaths... Araw-araw nga po kaming nagbibigay ng virtual presser para malaman ng taumbayan ang kaganapan tungkol sa COVID siituation as Pilipinas," Duque said.
"Hindi po tama na magkukubli kami o hindi namin ibibigay ang mga tamang numero ng infected cases saka COVID deaths natin," he added.
News anchor Arnold Clavio on Saturday reported in an Instagram post that a hospital in Metro Manila was allegedly instructed to stop counting COVID-19 related deaths.