Limited resources affect Dinagat Islands' capacity to handle COVID-19 surge - official | ABS-CBN

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Limited resources affect Dinagat Islands' capacity to handle COVID-19 surge - official

Limited resources affect Dinagat Islands' capacity to handle COVID-19 surge - official

ABS-CBN News

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Video courtesy of PTV

MANILA - The lack of resources in Dinagat Islands affected their capacity to handle coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases, a health official noted, as the area slowly recovered from a surge in recent months.

In a public press briefing, Dinagat Islands Provincial Health Officer Dr. Jillian Lee noted that the island, home to 127,000 people, does not have an accredited hospital by the DOH. Lee said the whole province only has 20 doctors, and that limited resources make it "difficult" to handle a surge in cases in their province.

As of July 3, Dinagat Islands had 80 active COVID-19 cases out of the total 1,094 confirmed cases. They also logged 6 cases of the Beta variant in April. They noted a slower uptick in cases after a peak between May and June. However, she said these levels remain high for their health care capacity.

"Wala kaming ospital. Ngayon lang kami nagkaroon ng X-ray na iniinstall, 20 lang ang doktor sa buong probinsiya... Very limited ang capability ng health care system na mag-deal sa isang surge ng COVID-19 so kahit ngayon nararamdaman siya. Sa ilang lalawigan ang 80 cases kayang-kaya na nila 'yan pero sa province namin high levels na siya," Lee noted.

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(We do not have a hospital. We just installed an X-ray machine. We only have around 20 doctors, and our capacity to deal with a surge is very limited. Other areas can handle 80 cases but for a province like ours, it's a high-level thing.)

Lee noted that the island's district hospitals were accredited only as "infirmaries" due to the lack of facilities.

"Sa totoo lang ang health care utilization rate ng province ay hindi nagre-reflect sa stats ng DOH, since sa buong probinsiya wala kaming accredited na ospital, ang tatlo naming district hospitals, dahil sa limitations ng personnel and equipment na available [ay] accredited sila bilang infirmaries. Walang available na intensive care and mechanical ventilation," Lee said.

(To be frank, our health care utilization rate does not reflect in the statistics of the DOH. We do not have an accredited hospital in the whole province. Our three district hospitals, due to the limited personnel and equipment, are only accredited as infirmaries.)

"Ang 10 beds na official capacity ay umaabot ng 30 patients at any given time so mataas ang utilization rate ng referral facilities ng aming 3 district hospitals," she added.

(The 10-bed official capacity of the hospitals spill over to 30 patients at any given time so the utilization rate of referral facilities remains high.)

It took until August 2020 for Dinagat Islands to tally its first COVID-19 cases, which were all outsiders.

The island is currently under modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ), the second strictest level, due to a surge in cases over the summer. Lee attributed this increase in cases to the Inter-Agency Task Force Against COVID-19’s order to place unified travel protocols that prohibited a mandatory quarantine period.

Eventually, they logged cases of community transmission as people who came from outside their borders contracted the virus.

To quell the number of COVID-19 cases, they barred entry amid the COVID-19 spike.

With the very limited capacity, Lee said they implemented a “no-entry” policy and reimplemented mandatory quarantine procedures, and strengthened contact tracing procedures that have significantly lowered case stats.

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US pushes Zelensky to sign Ukraine resources deal

US pushes Zelensky to sign Ukraine resources deal

Agence France-Presse

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Updated Feb 22, 2025 03:09 AM PHT

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky faced pressure on Friday to sign a deal to hand the United States preferential access to Ukraine's mineral deposits following harsh criticism from US President Donald Trump.

Trump wants Ukraine to give US companies access as compensation for the tens of billions of dollars of aid delivered under his predecessor Joe Biden.

But Ukraine is seeking security guarantees from the United States in exchange for signing away precious rights to vast amounts of its natural resources and critical minerals.

Mike Waltz, Trump's national security adviser on Friday predicted that Zelensky would sign the deal soon.

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"Look, here's the bottom line, President Zelensky is going to sign that deal, and you will see that in the very short term, and that is good for Ukraine," Waltz told a conference on the outskirts of Washington.

Trump's top advisers have doubled down on their attacks on Zelensky in recent days, after Trump branded him a "dictator" and falsely claimed Ukraine had "started" the war with Russia.

The war of words has stunned Kyiv and European capitals, a sign of just how rapidly Trump is overhauling Washington's long-standing support for Ukraine as he opens talks with Moscow on a settlement to the conflict.

Trump told a gathering of US governors at the White House he had "very good talks" with his Russian counterpart, while adding Ukrainian leaders "don't have any cards, but they play it tough".

The United States had been Ukraine's most important financial, military and political backer since Russia invaded in February 2022, in what the West's top powers had condemned as an unprovoked and illegal war of aggression.

A senior Ukrainian official earlier Friday told AFP that despite the tensions between Zelensky and Trump, talks on a possible agreement were "ongoing".

"There is a constant exchange of drafts, we sent another one yesterday," the Kyiv source said, adding that Ukraine was now waiting for a US response.

Kyiv had rejected a first attempt by Trump's team to strike a deal for Ukraine's natural resources, saying the proposal did not include security guarantees for Kyiv -- a move that infuriated Trump.


- Three-year war -


Ukraine is pressing for NATO membership or for the deployment of Western troops and masses of advanced equipment as part of any wider ceasefire agreement with Russia.

Zelensky said earlier this week he would not "sell" Ukraine in any deal with the United States.

The spat risks undermining Western support for Kyiv at a critical juncture in the conflict, ahead of the three-year anniversary of Russia's invasion on Sunday.

Russia's army on Friday said it had captured two more villages in eastern Ukraine.

Europe has also been left scrambling to respond, though Zelensky has held a flurry of calls in recent days with European leaders reiterating their support for Ukraine, including French President Emmanuel Macron and the leaders of Finland and Denmark.

Macron will travel to Washington next week where he will tell Trump: "You can't be weak with President Putin," he said in an address on Thursday.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will also visit Trump, as Paris and London seek to marshal Europe's response to the Republican's first month in office.


- 'Despised' -


Zelensky met this week in Kyiv with Trump's envoy Keith Kellogg whose description of meetings with Ukrainian officials came in stark contrast with rhetoric from his counterparts in Washington.

In a social media post Kellogg called Zelensky "the embattled and courageous leader of a nation at war".

But in Washington there was little sign Trump's team was looking to dial down tensions.

Trump told Fox News on Friday that "I don't think he's very important to be in meetings", referring to Zelensky, adding "he makes it very hard to make deals".

Tech tycoon and Trump backer Elon Musk weighed in on Thursday, saying Ukrainians "despised" their president and that the US leader was right to leave him out of talks with Russia.

"Some of the rhetoric coming out of Kyiv, frankly, and insults to President Trump were unacceptable," Waltz said during a briefing at the White House.

In his most pointed criticism yet, Zelensky earlier this week said Trump had succumbed to Russian "disinformation" over the US president's repetition of debunked Kremlin talking points on the conflict.

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