CEBU CITY – Amid the rising cases of new infections, the city government has beefed up its COVID-19 response by hiring additional medical workers.
Dr. Jeffrey Ibones, chief of the Cebu City Health Department (CCHD), said 60 nurses have been hired by the city and were deployed in isolation facilities, temporary treatment and monitoring facilities (TTMF) and mega isolation center.
The CCHD has also hired 15 doctors and is still eyeing to hire more, Ibones said.
“Hopefully, medical practitioners who are looking for a job will help us. We still need 150 doctors and nurses to help not just Cebu City but the entire Cebu province,” said Ibones.
Ibones admitted that some health workers decided to resign when they were deployed in isolation facilities.
“We cannot blame those who resigned but we are hoping that there will be no more resignations,” said Ibones.
The increasing COVID-19 cases has overwhelmed hospitals in the city.
There were days when patients had to line up outside the hospitals and were aided with oxygen tanks.
The city is still needing more doctors, nurses, midwives, encoders and nursing attendants, Ibones said.
In the quarantine classifications that were announced on Saturday, August 28, the city will remain under modified enhanced community quarantine until September 7.
In the August 27 bulletin of the Department of Health Central Visayas, the city tallied 221 new infections, propelling its active cases to 4,600.
Overall, the city has recorded 37,191 cases with 31,440 recoveries and 1,151 deaths.