SIXTEEN healthcare workers in Motiong, Samar, 15 of them fully vaccinated, have tested positive for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), leaving the town with just eight healthy frontline workers.
Dr. Katerina Abiertas, the town’s health officer, said they first discovered the infection last June 8 when one of their healthcare workers tested positive after undergoing a swab test.
Subsequent testing of the rest of the town’s healthcare workers showed 15 others, including her, were positive for the deadly virus.
Abiertas said she and four others are on home quarantine, six are in an isolation facility of the Inter-Local Health Zone, while five others are recovering at the facility of the Regional Health Unit.
Abiertas, replying through her Facebook Messenger, said four of them have been fully vaccinated with Sinovac, 11 have been fully vaccinated with AstraZeneca, while the 16th, who is asymptomatic, is waiting for the second dose of AstraZeneca.
Abiertas, who said she has been jabbed with AstraZeneca, said six of the infected are permanent employees of the town, while the rest were hired by the local government or Department of Health, apparently on a contractual basis.
“Sixteen of us, healthcare workers, were infected. Our office is a bit crippled in responding to the (COVID-19) crisis in Motiong. There are eight who are negative,” said Abiertas.
“At this point, we need augmentation, assistance from the national government because there are not many healthcare workers here and now, we’re sick,” said Abiertas.
She said a team from the DOH has given assurances that they will augment the healthcare workers of the town. He said other local government units also offered to help.
Abiertas said she also heard reports about health workers in other towns of the province who have tested positive for the virus but could not immediately give figures.
Meanwhile, new COVID-19 cases dipped to 5,604 from 6,096 last Sunday due to the failure of six laboratories to submit their data to the COVID-19 Document Repository System (CDRS) last June 26.
In its latest bulletin, the Department of Health said infections in the country rose to 1,403,588 while 84 more patients succumbed to the deadly virus, pushing the death toll to 24,456 for a case fatality rate of 1.74. — With Gerard Naval
