MANILA— Vice President Leni Robredo on Saturday said her office has prepared and sent out COVID-19 "care kits" to virus patients using the online consultation platform launched by her office, as most do not have medicine and supplies.

In a Facebook post, Robredo said they did not expect the high number of teleconsultations through her office's Bayanihan E-konsulta 2 days ago, which led them to do "overwhelming" tasks.

• READ: No mobile data needed: Robredo launches free 'e-Konsulta' for medical consultations

But the Vice President regretted that many of those COVID-19 positive patients who consulted with them did not have thermometers and pulse oximeters to check on their temperature and oxygen level, prompting them to send out such care kits.

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"One of our realizations since Wednesday was that most of our patients who are COVID positive and doing home isolation are relieved that they get to talk to a medical doctor," she said.

"But when doctors start asking them to monitor their symptoms and report them, they do not have thermometers and oximeters."

Robredo said each COVID-19 care kit contains medicine, medical supplies, a monitoring sheet, and instructions of home care "per doctors' recommendation."

"Kudos to our staff who have not rested one bit since this pandemic started. Everyone is doing triple the work they have been doing since the latest surge happened," she added.

• READ: 'Telemedicine here to stay' a year after COVID-19 prompts PH lockdown

Bayanihan E-Konsulta offers medical consultations for free via Facebook Messenger.

The Office of the Vice President also recently rolled out a community testing project called the Swab Cab. Using donated antigen kits, the program was able to test about 1,300 individuals in Malabon, where it was first mounted.

Hospitals in the capital region continue to be overwhelmed with fresh COVID-19 admissions, despite nearly two weeks since the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) was imposed in the region and nearby provinces of Rizal, Laguna, Cavite, and Bulacan.

To date, the Philippines has confirmed 840,554 coronavirus infections, with 14,520 fatalities and 647,683 recoveries.

• READ: PH logs record-high COVID-19 deaths at 401, active cases at over 178,000