The Philippine Red Cross (PRC) continues the operation of its isolation facilities and emergency field hospitals (EFH) as the more contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus poses a possible lockdown.
PRC expects Covid-19 cases to rise with the new variant.
Senator Richard Gordon, PRC chair and chief executive officer, has ordered the deployment of the EFH as early as April to serve as an extension for Lung Center of the Philippines (LCP) to handle the increasing demand for hospital beds.
It will allow LCP to free bed spaces, allowing admission of more severe cases.
PRC also turned unused classrooms into temporary isolation facilities to cater to asymptomatic patients.
The agency now has isolation facilities at Ateneo de Manila and University of the Philippines in Quezon City, College of Saint Benilde in Manila, and Makati Science High School.
“We are in a war situation against this invisible enemy. The health care system in the NCR Plus region is challenged due to the increasing cases of Covid-positive individuals. Through the emergency field hospitals and isolation facilities of the Red Cross, the PRC will help serve more patients needing immediate health care,” Gordon said in a news release on Thursday.
Gordon has tested positive for Covid-19 and was admitted to the Makati Medical Center on Wednesday after tests showed he has pneumonia.
“I am fully vaccinated and I am grateful for the protection that the vaccine affords me today. While infections in vaccinated people are relatively uncommon, they can and do happen,” he said.
Source: Philippines News Agency