5 staff of Ospital ng Sampaloc test positive for virus

Ospital ng Sampaloc in Manila was temporarily closed after five hospital staff tested positive for the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19).

Fourteen doctors, eight nurses, and seven administrative staff are also under quarantine, the Manila Public Information Office (PIO) said.

Patients who were still undergoing treatment or resting in the hospital have either been discharged or were transferred to other district hospitals in Manila.

Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso ordered the temporary closure on Saturday night.

“Ang Ospital ng Sampaloc ay pansamantalang isasara upang bigyan ng panahon na gumaling ang ating mga doktor, mga nurse, and hospital workers (The Ospital ng Sampaloc will be temporarily closed to give our doctors, nurses, and hospital workers time to heal),” he said in his city address.

The hospital will also undergo disinfecting operations while it is closed, the hospital management said in an advisory issued Saturday evening.

Meanwhile, the remaining health workers in the said hospital will be distributed to augment the operations of the five other district hospitals in the city, particularly at the Sta. Ana Hospital where the Manila Infectious Disease Control Center (MIDCC) is located, Domagoso said.

The other district hospitals include Ospital ng Maynila Medical Center, Justice Jose Abad Santos General Hospital, Ospital ng Tondo, and Gat Andres Bonifacio Memorial Medical Center.

Those seeking consultation regarding internal medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics/gynecology, anesthesiology, and medico-legal clearances may do so at the Ospital ng Maynila Medical Center, JJSGH, and Ospital ng Tondo