By Marie Tonette Marticio
TACLOBAN City - The apex hospital in Eastern Visayas has temporarily stopped admitting patients beginning Tuesday night, June 16, after 18 of its health workers were found to have been infected by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
The 500-bed capacity Eastern Visayas Regional Medical Center (EVRMC), which has facilities located on Magsaysay Boulevard and in Barangay Cabalawan here, have closed their emergency rooms for decontamination.
However, John Paul Roca, the Department of Health (DOH-8) information officer, said EVRMC will continue its operation and cater to its currently admitted patients.
"The patients will stay there for now, only that (EVRMC) won't temporarily receive more patients because we are looking into the possibility that the source of the virus might have come from the emergency room," he said.
Roca added that they have already identified rooms in the hospital to serve as isolation areas for the infected health workers.
"Initially, we're working out to tap some hotels to serve as isolation facilities for their close contacts. In the meantime, we will check the manpower (contact tracing), disinfect the building, and the check the systems, including protocols and skeleton force," he shared.
Six doctors, five nurses, two radiologic technologists, four nursing attendants, and a driver in EVRMC have been infected by the dreaded virus.
Of this group, 14 were from Tacloban City, and one each from the municipalities of Dulag, Babatngon, Palo, and Alang-alang – all in Leyte province.
Roca said that they were still investigating the source of the virus that affected its two facilities.
Meanwhile, the Leyte Provincial Hospital in Palo, Leyte has also reported four infected health workers which included a nurse supervisor, a nurse, a nursing attendant, and an institutional worker.
They were from Tacloban City, Julita, Palo, and Tolosa, Leyte.