Gallares Hospital in Bohol province now a COVID-19 dedicated facility

MANDAUE CITY, Cebu — With the discovery of locally transmitted cases of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Bohol province, the Governor Celestino Gallares Memorial Hospital that is located in Tagbilaran City has announced its decision to become a COVID-19 dedicated facility.

This means that GCGMH, a government-owned hospital, will only admit suspected and probable cases of the infection.

“These include Moderate & Severe Acute Respiratory Illness (MARI & SARI) Cases referred from Municipal Health Offices (MHOs), the Tagbilaran City Health Office and private hospitals,” said a public advisory dated June 13.

A copy of the advisory that was signed by Dr. Mutya Kismet Macuno, the Medical Center chief, was posted on the hospital’s Facebook page on Saturday, June 13, 2020.

Last week, Tagbilaran City officials announced the discovery of two cases of the infection in their city.

Read: 2 hospital workers in Tagbilaran City test positive for COVID-19

Governor Arthur Yap also announced Sunday night the addition of four new cases of the infection in Bohol province involving locally stranded individuals (LSIs).

Yap said that the two cases from Tagbilaran City arrived on June 4 on board a sweeper flight from Manila while the residents of Sagbayan and Candijay came from Cebu.

Read: LSIs from Manila, Cebu test positive of COVID-19 in Bohol

In the advisory, Macuno said that GCGMH’s main and obstetrics emergency departments would only be accepting urgent and emergent referrals coming from the MHOs, the Tagbilaran CHO, and private hospitals in Bohol province.

“We ask that all urgent and emergent walk-ins seek consultation at our partner private hospitals in the vicinity.”

“We have committed to this role as the Province’s Apex Referral Center and the chief implementor of the  Department of Health’s programs and protocols for battling COVID-19,” the advisory said./dbs