COVID-19 Patients Die In Parking Lot As PH Hospitals Reach Full Capacity

Several COVID-19 patients in the Philippines have died in a hospital parking lot while waiting to be admitted, officials said Monday.

In an interview with local radio station Teleradyo, Dr. Melbril Alonte, a medical director at Ospital ng Binan in Laguna, disclosed the tragic situation at his hospital.

“Sad to say but it's true. Four patients have died both yesterday and the other day,” Alonte said, as translated by ABS-CBN News.

Alonte added that the eight patients were critically ill and had nowhere to go as other hospitals in Laguna are already stretched to capacity amid the spread of the more contagious Delta variant.

Due to the surge of COVID-19 cases, Ospital ng Binan has converted its parking lot to a reception area for people who may be infected with COVID-19. As of Monday local time, at least 24 patients were still waiting to be admitted to the hospital. The hospital has also hired additional medical workers after several of its staff members contracted the virus.

The deaths came after the Philippines government announced the extension of the enforcement of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in the province of Laguna until Aug. 20 to curb the spread of the virus.

Under ECQ measures, only essential establishments and industries would be allowed to operate. This includes hospitals, grocery stores, courier and delivery services, and business process outsourcing.

Other establishments, such as banks, veterinarian clinics, telecommunications, internet services, and sanitation services, would be allowed to operate with a skeletal workforce. Public transportation would also be limited, according to Rappler.

On Monday, the Philippines registered more than 14,000 new COVID-19 cases for the third consecutive day. Health officials also recorded 27 additional deaths, bringing the country’s total number of cases to 1,755,846 and overall deaths to 30,366.

Many exhausted medical workers have now threatened to resign, complaining of low pay and poor working conditions during the pandemic.

"We can't even take a proper day off because we are often called back to cover for other staff who were in quarantine or resigned," Loui, a 30-year-old intensive care unit nurse, told Reuters. Before she quit her job, she was earning $394 or 20,000 pesos per month, including overtime.