At least 30 COVID-19 patients at the Hospicio de San Jose orphanage in Manila were moved on Sunday to the newly-opened isolation facility of the Philippine Red Cross at Adamson University.
Sister Maria Socorro Pilar Evidente, Hospicio de San Jose President, said COVID-19 infections in the orphanage grew "rapidly" in August.
"We can't trace it. It's quite rapid. Unlike in April to June whencases were slowly increasing," she said.
Last Sunday, the orphanage pleaded for cash donations as it reported 80 COVID-19 cases among children and its personnel.
Of the 80, Evidente related that two are severe cases that were already sent to the hospital, while the remaining 78 are already recovering.
Meanwhile, a dozen Filipino crewmen of the MV Olympic have been offloaded from the cargo ship and brought to a quarantine center in Manila.
The ship carrying carbon from Indonesia was denied entry at its destination in China when 15 of its crew tested positive for COVID-19.
One of them, another Filipino, had died on board on August 19, a crewman named “Eric” told ABS-CBN News.
“Eric” said he and 11 others were taken from the ship to the quarantine center in Manila, where they await a swab test from the local government.
PRC Chairman and CEO Senator Dick Gordon made the decision after Hospicio’s administrator Sr. Evidente on Saturday requested the PRC to open its isolation facility in Adamson University to cater to virus-positive individuals of the oldest welfare institution in the country.
Gordon immediately mobilized PRC to open the Adamson facility and cater to children and the elderly of Hospicio de San Jose.
“We need to immediately help the elderly and children of Hospicio de San Jose because they are the most vulnerable groups in our country,” Gordon said.
“Due to the increasing Covid-19 cases, I immediately ordered the opening of our isolation facility in Adamson to give medical attention to those affected by COVID-19,” he added.
The PRC isolation facility will provide a doctor and a nurse to ensure the wellbeing of the patients, the senator said.
PRC’s Bakuna Bus also recently conducted vaccination at Hospicio de San Jose, inoculating over 150 senior citizens, bed-ridden clients, persons with comorbidities, and health care workers.
