The Dr. Jose R. Reyes Memorial Medical Center (JRRMMC) recorded three deaths among devotees brought to the hospital during the annual Traslacion of the Black Nazarene, a hospital official said on Saturday, Jan. 10.

Dr. Cynthia Versoza, the chairperson of the Emergency Medicine Complex of JRRMMC, said the hospital recorded 23 Traslacion-related patients, three of whom died, as of 6 a.m.

“Doon sa 23 patients na dinala sa Jose Reyes po, tatlo po doon ay namatay po. Yesterday morning po, may dinala na isang pasyente who apparently suffered a heart attack, nakarating pa po nang buhay sa aming hospital pero eventually, nag-expire po siya (Out of the 23 patients brought to Jose Reyes, three died. Yesterday morning, a patient who apparently suffered a heart attack was brought to our hospital and arrived alive, but eventually expired),” she said in a radio interview.

According to Versoza, two of the fatalities were declared dead on arrival at JRRMMC.

“And then, ‘yung dalawa po na dumating po, parehong dead on arrival. Apparently, nakita na lang po na unconscious sa ground and dinala po sa hospital po namin (The other two arrived dead on arrival. Apparently, they were found unconscious on the ground and brought to our hospital),” she said.

The hospital official said their emergency teams attempted to revive the patients but were unsuccessful.

“We tried po reviving the patient pero hindi na po namin na-revive despite the efforts po (We tried reviving the patient but were no longer able to revive him despite our efforts),” she said.

Versoza said the hospital had already started receiving patients as early as Jan. 8, even during the “Pahalik,” bringing the total number to 23 as of 6 a.m.

Versoza clarified that the photojournalist who died while covering the Traslacion was not brought to JRRMMC.

Meanwhile, the Department of Health (DOH) said that 963 devotees sought medical assistance during the Traslacion as of 6 a.m.

“As of 6 a.m., umabot na po sa 963 ang partial count ng Department of Health sa mga debotong nangailangan ng medikal na atensyon habang nagaganap ang Traslacion ng mahal na Poonh Nazareno (As of 6 a.m., the Department of Health’s partial count has reached 963 devotees who needed medical attention during the Traslacion of the Black Nazarene),” DOH Health Promotion Bureau Director Tina Marasigan said.

She said 390 cases involved injuries caused by crowd-related incidents.

“Nasa 390 ay mga sugatang deboto matapos na madaganan ng kapwa deboto, maipit ng andas, at mahulot mula sa pag-akyat sa poon (About 390 were injured devotees after being trampled by fellow devotees, pinned by the carriage, or falling while climbing onto the image),” she said.

“May ilang pasyenteng naputulan pa ng daliri sa paa nang magulungan ng andas (Some patients even had toes amputated after being run over by the carriage),” she added.

Aside from injuries, the DOH said dizziness, hypertension, and hypotension were among the most common complaints treated at DOH medical tents.

“Maliban sa mga sugatan, pagkahilo, hypertension, at hypotension o pagbaba ng dugo ang idinulog sa medical tents ng DOH (Aside from injuries, dizziness, hypertension, and hypotension or low blood pressure were among the complaints brought to DOH medical tents),” she said.

Marasigan said most of those treated were male devotees.

“Karamihan sa mga natugunan ng DOH Health Response teams ay mga kalalakihan (Most of those assisted by the DOH health response teams were male),” she said.

She added that young adults were the most affected.

“Pinaka naapektuhan po ang mga edad 20 hanggang 24 years old na sinundan mga kabataan edad 15 hanggang 19 years old (Those aged 20 to 24 were the most affected, followed by youth aged 15 to 19),” Marasigan said.

The DOH said 20 emergency response team stations remain deployed, while 20 DOH hospitals across Metro Manila, including JRRMMC, are under Code White Alert.