BRTTH braces for surge in Covid cases due to Omicron

By Cet Dematera

The Bicol Regional Training and Teaching Hospital (BRTTH) based in Legazpi City has already expanded its bed capacity up to 250 as it braces for possible surge in Covid-19 infections that could be triggered by the new variant Omicron.

Dr. Raborar, BRTTH chief, said that they made the bed capacity expansion after it has been converted by the local inter-agency task force into a Covid-19 cases referral hospital.

“We are ready just in case the Covid-19 cases would again spike due to the discovery of Omicron variant that is more infectious than the previous ones,” Raborar said.

He also commended the efforts of several local government units to sustain their vaccination programs that apparently contributed to the drop in Covid-19 infections.

At present, Raborar said that BRTTH only has 26 admitted cases of Covid-19 infections.

“There was a time during the surge of Covid-19 infections that BRTTH had admitted more than 200 cases that almost occupied the hospital’s maximum bed capacity,” Raborar added.

He also thanked individuals and organizations who are continuously donating personal protective equipment (PPEs) and other paraphernalia being used in the treatment of Covid-19 patients.

“A set of PPE is worth P5,000. And a health worker wears more than one set every time they attend to a Covid-19 infected patient. We thank those who are donating to us these suits. Otherwise the government would be spending much for the treatment,” Raborar said.

A senator running for reelection had donated on Dec. 6 PPEs and other health kits to BRTTH.