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Dozens of medical staff protested in the Philippine capital, demanding an end to their so-called government neglect and unpaid benefits, as the delta mutation cases continue to surge, which has brought greater impact to the hospitals fighting one of the longest-lasting coronavirus epidemics in Asia pressure.
On Wednesday, protesters wearing protective medical equipment gathered at the Department of Health (DOH) and held up placards demanding that they receive risk pay, hazard pay and the resignation of Health Minister Francisco Duque.
Coronavirus cases in the Philippines surpassed the 2 million mark on Wednesday, almost a quarter of the cases recorded in August.
Medical staff were overwhelmed, and 103 new deaths were reported on Wednesday, plus more than 33,000 COVID-19 deaths.
“It is regrettable that many of us have died, many of us are sick, and many have resigned or chose to retire early, but we still kneel in front of the Ministry of Health to provide us with benefits,” the chairman of the alliance, Robert A. Mendoza (Robert Mendoza) said. The health worker said from the back of a pickup truck.
On Tuesday, the representative of the World Health Organization in the country announced that the Delta change was the main case in the Philippines.
“Of course. With these numbers, we are spreading Delta variants in the community,” Dr. Rabindra Abeyasinghe said at a media conference.
Despite the record-breaking surge in recent days, President Rodrigo Duterte has defended his government’s pandemic response.
After the nurse threatened to resign and the union warned of a strike, he gave the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Budget 10 days from August 21 to pay health workers, but more than 100,000 of them have not yet received benefits.
“The government promised to provide benefits today, but so far, it has not. I sympathize with us because we are beggers,” said nurse Nico Oba.
Duterte also supported Health Secretary Duke in his repeated calls for his resignation, the latest time after the state auditor pointed out that more than $1 billion in COVID-19 spending was “insufficient”.
‘Need more time’
Duke told Reuters on Wednesday that the government is working hard to distribute benefits but called for more time.
ICU usage in most areas exceeds the 70% alert level… #COVID19Ph #UPCOVID19PandemicResponseTeam #NRCPCCMon pic.twitter.com/jFbOI0uKaw
-Dr. Jomar Fajardo Rabajante (@cutejgwapo) September 1, 2021
According to government data, the Philippine Nurses Association actually held its own protests to improve working conditions and increase hospital staff. Nearly one-third of them have reached a “critical level” of more than 85%.
As in other parts of Southeast Asia where vaccination rates are low, the highly transmitted delta variant has led to a surge in deaths and a surge in cases, with the daily number of cases in the Philippines reaching 22,366 on Monday.
In an interview with a TV channel in Manila, Dr. Tony Leachon, Duterte’s former COVID-19 consultant, warned that the Philippines could soon become the epicenter of the pandemic in Southeast Asia.
He said that given the increasing number of cases, the still low vaccination rate and the poor contact tracing system, the Philippines is now in a “perfect storm”, and Congress’ investigations into alleged misuse of COVID-19 funds are further dragged down. the Philippines.
“If we can’t control it, the healthcare system will soon collapse,” he told ABS-CBN.
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