Jose Abad Santos General Hospital in Manila temporarily closed due to rising COVID-19 cases

The Justice Jose Abad Santos General Hospital (JJASGH) on Saturday announced its temporary closure due to an increase in COVID-19 infections among its patients and healthcare workers.

The temporary closure took effect at 8 p.m. Saturday, the hospital said in an advisory. 

“Ang bilang ng may COVID na pasyente ay higit pa sa bilang ng kama kaya kailangan munang magsara para mapauwi o mailipat sa quarantine facilities ang mga naka-admit sa pakikipagtulungan ng Manila Health Department,” the JJASGH said.

(The number of COVID patients is greater than the number of beds in our hospital, so we need to temporarily close so that our admitted patients may be discharged or transferred to quarantine facilities with the help of the Manila Health Department.)

“Marami rin pong mga kawani ng JJASGH ang nahawa na. Maari po munang pumunta sa ibang pampublikong ospital sa Lungsod ng Maynila,” it added.

(Many JJASGH staff have been infected. The public is advised to go to other public hospitals in Manila City.)

Meanwhile, the Gat Andres Bonifacio Memorial Medical Center (GABMMC) in Tondo, Manila also temporarily stopped admitting patients at the emergency room due to the rise in COVID-19 infections among hospital employees and personnel.

The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) earlier placed the National Capital Region (NCR) under Alert Level 3 from January 3 to 15, 2022, following the sharp increase in new COVID-19 cases.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said on Friday that the highly transmissible Omicron variant may already be responsible for the sharp rise in coronavirus cases in the country.

The country on Saturday recorded 3,617 new COVID-19 infections at the start of the New Year. — VBL, GMA News