UST Hospital places 530 medical staff under quarantine

Around 530 medical staff at UST Hospital have been placed under quarantine due to exposure to COVID-19 patients and persons under investigation.

The affected personnel include consultants, fellows, residents, nurses, and aides, significantly reducing the hospital's healthcare workforce.

The UST Hospital management noted challenges including a lack of personal protective equipment and difficulties in transportation for health workers.

To manage the depleted workforce, the hospital will regulate admissions and temporarily halt elective procedures in some units.

Hospital staff and trainees will also work on alternating skeletal duty schedules to minimize exposure risks.

The Clinical Division Medical Ward has been designated for the isolation of COVID-19 patients and PUIs.

UST Hospital had previously discharged one of its two admitted COVID-19 patients.