The Pasig City government has hired 227 new healthcare workers to sustain the operations of the city’s hospitals amid the spike in coronavirus (COVID-19) cases.
Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto announced the hiring in a Facebook post on Wednesday, Jan. 19, after several hospital staff were placed under quarantine due to COVID-19 infection. He also shared the highlights of their weekly online executive committee meeting.
Sotto said that he has signed the contracts of 28 general physicians, 61 nurses, and 138 other medical staff such as medical specialists, nursing attendants, and physical therapists.
He added that the quarantine process, particularly for healthcare workers and city officials remains a challenge despite the reduced length of mandatory isolation.
Sotto tested positive for COVID-19 on Saturday, Jan. 15.
The Pasig City Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit (CESU) recorded 3,336 active COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, Jan. 18, with cases still projected to rise in the coming days.
However, even with the Omicron variant’s high transmission rate, the CESU said that the death rate in the city is lower.
The city government currently has 690 contact tracers, and are expected to hire more people in order to strengthen the city’s contact tracing operations.
Sotto added that the city government has re-opened two vaccination sites and will also open another one run by a private entity.
Vaccination registration is ongoing for minors through the PasigPass online portal while the city government is waiting for the Department of Health’s guidelines on the vaccination of children aged 5 to 11.
As of Jan. 18, Pasig City recorded 71,549 confirmed cases, 66,731 recoveries, and 1,482 deaths. (Khriscielle Yalao)