QC gov't to hire doctors from private sector; LGU-run hospitals reach full capacity for COVID-19
The local government of Quezon City will hire doctors from the private sector to address the shortage of doctors in the city amid the ongoing coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

“Meron po tayong mga shortage of doctors na umiikot sa ating mga pasyente (We have a shortage of doctors who work with our patients) and what we’ve done about this is we have made talks with the private sector and we will be hiring some doctors from the private sector,” Mayor Joy Belmonte said in a virtual press briefing on Wednesday.
“Bukod tangi nilang trabaho ay umikot lamang at mag certify ng mga pasyenteng recovered na (Their only job is to certify patients who have recovered from the virus),” she added.
On the other hand, Belmonte disclosed that two of their locally-run hospitals already reached full capacity, in terms of accommodating COVID-19 patients.
According to her, the COVID-19 ward of the Quezon City General Hospital (QCGH) already reached 106.25 percent occupancy rate while the Novaliches District Hospital (NDH) reached 118.75 percent.
Nevertheless, Belmonte said the city is “still lucky” to have other hospitals that can accommodate COVID-19 patients. She referred to private hospitals and those being run by the national government.
“So we have several other areas in which we can refer our patients… Medyo nakakapagbigay samin ng relief dito sa Quezon City (It gives us relief here in Quezon City),” she added.
As of Tuesday (March 9), the city has a total of 2,100 active COVID-19 cases.