Covid-19 victims cry for better care

In a message to the Southern Leyte Times, an angry concerned citizen who preferred anonymity expressed exasperation about the existing health care procedure for Covid-19 tested positive citizens. According to him, health care administrators and workers must improve on their services. He revealed that one of his friends from Sogod town told him that during his 14-day isolation/quarantine, there were no health workers to personally care for him, or check on how he was doing. He also said that he was advised to take some antibiotic; and that several days later when he was still not feeling well, he had himself checked up in a private clinic but was diagnosed of having a pulmonary disease.
Similar incidence had also been happening in Maasin City, some living in the poblacion and even in distant barangays. Instructions are not given or clear on what to expect and when to get out of isolation.
One senior citizen lamented saying, “how can we flatten the curve if some people are almost dying,” and that “we are always reporting data of COVID-19 positive patients but we cannot give any assistance or medicines to those people who really need help.”
The provincial consultant suggested that the health section in the barangays must have their own page on social media for proper and adequate information dissemination, especially in remote areas where transportation is poor.
Another big issue from office workers who have already completed the required days of their quarantine or isolation, and cannot perform tasks assigned to them like transacting business in the bank because their Quick Response (QR) Code has not been cleared. When asked, a Maasin City Hall officer said that a certification has to be obtained from the City Health Unit, then back to the city hall for verification and IT clearance. This is red tape that can be avoided by an automatic clearance after the prescribed quarantine days of those reported to be COVID-19 positive persons. This need to be included in the QR system that the province and city are adapting.