BY MAE SINGUAY AND DOMINIQUE GABRIEL BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – With the increasing number of severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases, the Emergency Operations Center Task Force (EOC-TF) in this city urged suppliers of medical grade oxygen to prioritize hospitals.
Hospitals in this city warned of a shortage in the supply of medical oxygen. They accommodate not only patients from Bacolod but also from local government units in Negros Occidental.
Hospitals here can consume 863 of 50-kilogram cylinders per day on average, according to the EOC-TF.
The maximum recorded consumption of hospitals reached up to 1,247, it added.
The Department of Health requires hospitals to store at least 6,010 cylinders of medical grade oxygen to assure enough supply in the wake of the surge of admissions.
There are seven healthcare facilities catering to COVID-19 patients in this city: Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital, Bacolod Adventist Medical Center, Bacolod Queen of Mercy Hospital, Dr. Pablo O. Torre Memorial Hospital, Metro Bacolod Hospital and Medical Center, South Bacolod General Hospital, and The Doctors’ Hospital.
EOC-TF recently met with Air Liquide Cebu, manufacturer of liquid oxygen which is the main raw material for medical oxygen.
Mayor Evelio Leonardia urged Air Liquide to increase the allocation of liquid oxygen in Bacolod.
On the other hand, Central Gas Corp. here assured manufacturing of medical oxygen is their top priority. They also slammed reports of oxygen hoarding.
The Sangguniang Panlungsod passed a resolution urging the Department of Trade and Industry-Bacolod to strictly and closely monitor the sale, purchase and disposal of medical oxygen gases at certain retail and/or wholesale stores in this city, amid reports of oxygen hoarding./PN