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1,336 Health Workers Who Have Contracted The Disease

Two advocacy groups called for the Philippine government to be held accountable for the deaths of health workers fighting COVID-19 due to a lack of protective equipment and testing. As of writing, 1,336 health workers had contracted the virus, with 29 deaths. This represents 16.7% of total cases in the country. The groups condemned the government's failure to adequately protect health workers, arguing this endangered the national response and patients' recovery. With infection rates among health workers among the highest in the region compared to only 2-3% elsewhere, more could have been done to safeguard these frontline staff.

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43 views2 pages

1,336 Health Workers Who Have Contracted The Disease

Two advocacy groups called for the Philippine government to be held accountable for the deaths of health workers fighting COVID-19 due to a lack of protective equipment and testing. As of writing, 1,336 health workers had contracted the virus, with 29 deaths. This represents 16.7% of total cases in the country. The groups condemned the government's failure to adequately protect health workers, arguing this endangered the national response and patients' recovery. With infection rates among health workers among the highest in the region compared to only 2-3% elsewhere, more could have been done to safeguard these frontline staff.

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SOURCES

'It would be an honor to die for your country, I assure you,' says
President Duterte of medical personnel who are now part of the
mounting coronavirus death toll. Netizens say they died because
of lack of government preparation.
The government should be held accountable for the death of health workers who were fighting
the COVID-19 pandemic, two groups calling for the protection of health workers said on
Tuesday, International Workers’ Memorial Day.
The Institute for Occupational Health and Safety Development (IOHSAD) and the Alliance of
Health Workers (AHW) explained that fewer health workers would have been infected with the
latest coronavirus strain if the government had placed measures to protect them.

As of this writing, the Department of Health (DOH) has recorded 1,336 health workers who have
contracted the disease, 29 of whom have died.  This means that 16.7% of the total number of
COVID-19 patients in the country are health workers.
“Many in our ranks are infected and some have died due to lack of PPE and failure to conduct
systematic testing and proper treatment.  Health workers’ lives are worth more than P1Million as
part of the DOH and Duterte administration’s death benefit to health workers who died due to the
virus,” AHW National President Robert Mendoza said in a statement.
“If the DOH and the Duterte administration are truly concerned about the health workers’ safety;
in the first place, there should be a clear, preventive and comprehensive medical plan and prompt
preparations to address the increasing number of COVID-19 cases,” he added.
According to Nadia De Leon, IOHSAD executive director, the infection of health workers poses
a risk to the country’s overall fight and goal of flattening the infection curve, as patients rely on
doctors, nurses, medical technologists, and other hospital staffers to recover.
“We condemn the government for failing to provide sufficient protection to our health workers.
At the same time, we raise the alarm on the rising deaths and infections among their ranks,” De
Leon said.

“The increase in infections among health workers is alarming and poses great danger not only to
their lives but to all the patients who rely on them to recover from the disease. Protecting our
health workers now is key to saving the lives of millions of Filipinos,” she explained.
This is not the first time that the current administration was asked to look after the welfare of
healthcare personnel.  Even before the cases among those in the medical field piled up, various
institutions have asked the government to supply personal protective equipment to health
workers, to shield them.
With the increase in cases, the World Health Organization notes that the Philippines has one of
the highest infection rates among health workers, compared to just 2% to 3% for countries in the
Western Pacific region — which includes China, where the new coronavirus originated.
The DOH has been slammed for saying that not all health workers would be tested but only those
with mild and severe symptoms= — despite reports that there are asymptomatic patients who
tested positive for the coronavirus.
Read more: https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1266345/groups-insist-govt-must-be-accountable-for-
health-workers-death-due-to-covid-19#ixzz6UyD4xdFA 
Follow us: @inquirerdotnet on Twitter | inquirerdotnet on Facebook

Read more: https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1266345/groups-insist-govt-must-be-accountable-for-
health-workers-death-due-to-covid-19#ixzz6UyD06hNS 
Follow us: @inquirerdotnet on Twitter | inquirerdotnet on Facebook

Read more: https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1266345/groups-insist-govt-must-be-accountable-for-
health-workers-death-due-to-covid-19#ixzz6UyCoWexd 
Follow us: @inquirerdotnet on Twitter | inquirerdotnet on Facebook

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