Ilocos Norte鈥檚 biggest public hospital and primary COVID-19 referral center calls on the public for help in building makeshift facilities to expand its isolation and holding areas amid a surge in COVID-19 cases in the province. (Photo courtesy of Mariano Marcos Memorial Hospital and Medical Center)
LAOAG CITY鈥擳he biggest public hospital and primary COVID-19 referral facility in Ilocos Norte has asked the public to help build a makeshift facility to expand its isolation and holding facilities amid a surge in COVID-19 cases in the province, according to health officials.
In a statement Tuesday, the Mariano Marcos Memorial Hospital and Medical Center (MMMH&MC) in Batac City said it would accept 鈥渄onations in kind, cash, and construction materials,鈥� to put up a 鈥渇ield hospital on the grounds [of MMMH&MC].鈥�
The hospital said the expanded facility would accommodate cases with pending swab results before they could be admitted or managed accordingly.
MMMH&MC primarily treats moderate, severe, and critical COVID-19 cases in Ilocos Norte.
As of June 5, the hospital has been nearing moderate occupancy rate, with 59 percent of the 86 COVID-19 beds occupied, according to the Department of Health (DOH).
Only six of the 28 beds in the hospital鈥檚 intensive care unit for COVID-19 patients are vacant, according to DOH.
The hospital has used 10 of its 14 mechanical ventilators to treat admitted COVID-19 patients.
Ilocos Norte has been experiencing a spike in COVID-19 cases in the past weeks, with 103 new ones recorded on July 6, the province鈥檚 highest single-day tally since last year.
The DOH said Ilocos Norte鈥檚 average daily attack rate per 100,000 population is at 8.86 percent, which is considered high.
In a statement on July 5, Ilocos Norte Gov. Matthew Marcos Manotoc said the province鈥檚 hospitals, isolation facilities, and frontliners 鈥渁re being challenged.鈥�
Manotoc said Ilocos Norte had not escalated its quarantine status amid the surge in infections because 鈥渙ur cases are mostly concentrated in certain barangays.鈥�
Manotoc said he had asked local officials and religious leaders 鈥渢o ensure that there will be no unnecessary gatherings鈥� as the province intensified its COVID-19 response.
Ilocos Norte, now under the least stringent modified general community quarantine, has 4,155 total COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began, of which at least 805 were active.