ILOILO City – Mayor Jerry Treñas has designated temporary treatment and monitoring facilities (TTMF) and birthing facilities for pregnant women here.
Under Treñas’ Executive Order No. 160, the District Medical Officers of the City Health Office shall endorse suspected and confirmed coronavirus disease 019 (COV ID-19) pregnant patients to the La Paz Maternity and Reproductive Center (LMRC) for thorough medical evaluation and assessment before endorsing to designated TTMF and birthing facilities.
This move came after an unfortunate incident at the city’s quarantine facility on Jalandoni Street on Wednesday. A 23-year-old pregnant coronavirus-positive woman gave birth. She was left on her own, an indignant relative claimed.
Treñas said that COVID-19 confirmed cases may be admitted to the TTMF if they are asymptomatic or with mild symptoms, no comorbidities and suspect COVID-19 case.
The second floor of the LMRC will serve as TTMF if the patient is suspected of COVID-19 or is confirmed COVID-19 positive through reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction test and is pregnant but does not have or complications affecting labor and birthing.
Its first floor, meanwhile, will serve as birthing facility as well as the Calumpang Lying-in in Calumpang, Molo district.
On the other hand, pregnant patients with the following conditions will be admitted to hospitals or health care facilities other than those mentioned:
* has any comorbidity or complication affecting labor and birthing whether she is suspected of COVID-19 or is confirmed COVID-19 positive,
* is suspected of COVID-19 or is confirmed COVID-19 positive, and is pregnant, but at her option chooses to seek medical intervention at a hospital of her choice,
* is not suspected of COVID-19 or is confirmed COVID-19 positive and is pregnant, but at her option chooses to seek medical intervention at a hospital of her choice,
* is suspected of COVID-19 or is confirmed COVID-19 positive and is pregnant, but is not near term, not showing signs of labor, and does not have any comorbidity or complications affecting her labor and birthing at her option chooses to complete her 14-day quarantine at any quarantine facility of the city government, or hotel
Pregnant patients have to comply with existing COVID-19 local health protocols of the city, execute an undertaking required by the city government and subject herself to medical monitoring by a physician of her choice.
Treñas also laid down criteria for step-down care.
Admitted probable and confirmed COVID-19 positive patients who meet all of the following criteria:
* clinically recovered or stable, and
* completing the 14-dat quarantine protocol or waiting for a repeat test
The executive order dated Oct. 2 takes effect immediately.
To recall, Mayor Treñas denied the allegation of relative of the pregnant patients but acknowledged that the quarantine facility – the no longer functional St. Therese MTCC Hospital – was not equipped to handle such a case.
The facility nevertheless accommodated the pregnant woman because no hospital would take her in, according to the mayor.
The video of the woman giving birth went viral. An angry sister-in-law posted it on Facebook, claiming the woman was left to give birth on her own.
Treñas insisted that the woman was not neglected.
There were two doctors at the quarantine facility but the woman’s delivery on Wednesday was unexpected; she was supposed to give birth on Oct. 17 yet.
“This is a lesson for us. We will not accept any pregnant (coronavirus) positive patients again,” said Treñas.
According to Alayon, her sister-in-law was simply told to “inhale-exhale.”
In a statement, Treñas clarified: “On the allegation that the male doctor ran away, he explained that he got his gloves before he could apply medical procedures (on the pregnant woman).”
The mayor nevertheless vowed to review the protocols at the quarantine facility for COVID-19 to avoid a repeat of what happened.
For his part, the city government’s COVID Team spokesperson Jeck Conlu said that as per Department of Health protocols here, pregnant women must be taken to the Western Visayas Sanitarium in Santa Barbara, Iloilo./PN
