COVID-19 resurgence puts Philippine health workers under strain

Country reports its second-largest daily increase in COVID-19 infections since pandemic as government ramps up vaccination.

The Philippines’s already stretched healthcare system is under more strain as the country reports its second-largest daily increase in COVID-19 infections since the pandemic, providing more evidence of how the virulent Delta variant may be spreading. Hundreds of hospitals in the country were again nearing full capacity as of Saturday, with some facilities reporting they had run out of intensive care unit beds for COVID-19 patients, leaving healthcare workers, who are forced to work longer hours, exhausted. Despite an existing lockdown in Metro Manila, some neighbourhoods were placed under an even stricter quarantine order on Saturday as cases continue to rise.