MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Health (DOH) released a list of hospitals and medical command posts on Monday, January 9, that devotees of Traslacion 2017 can go to if they have medical emergencies during the festivities.
The following medical command posts are manned either by DOH, the Manila Health Department (MHD), or volunteer groups:
- Quirino Grandstand
- President Cory Aquino Monument
- Liwasang Bonifacio
- Manila Police District Station 3
- Bonifacio Drive - Manila Hotel
- Roxas Boulevard - Kilometer Zero
- President Cory Aquino - Bonifacio Drive
- Manila Ocean Park
Medical teams are also deployed in MMDA Worker’s Inn, Roundtable, Metropolitan Theater, Muelle del Banco Nacional, Balikbayan, Villarica, Quezon Boulevard (north bound), Mercury Drugstore Quiapo, and Citystate Hotel.
DOH has raised Code Blue Alert for all Metro Manila hospitals from January 8 to 10. This means that 50% of all hospital personnel will report for duty in the facility to render medical services.
The Black Nazarene procession – or the Traslacion – left the Quirino Grandstand at 5:28 am Monday, with the police estimating the initial crowd to be at close to half a million. The crowd is expected to swell in the coming hours, while the procession is anticipated to last throughout the day and night.
The health department also stated that all DOH-retained and Manila LGU-run hospitals will be the receiving hospitals for those who will be injured during the Traslacion. These include:
- Gat Andres Bonifacio Memorial Medical Center
- Justice Abad Santos Mother & Child Hospital
- Ospital ng Maynila Medical Center
- Sta Ana Hospital
- Ospital ng Sampaloc
- Ospital ng Tondo II
- Jose Reyes Memorial Medical Center
- Tondo Medical Center
- San Lazaro Hospital
More than a hundred injured, so far
According to DOH's report, as of 5 am Monday, there were already 101 reported cases of hypertension, dizziness, headache, and blood pressure monitoring.
The Philippine Red Cross, which also deployed its volunteer medical teams, reported 69 incidents as of 8 am. Most of the cases are on blood pressure monitoring, and minor incidents like bruises and dizziness.
Quiapo’s The Black Nazarene procession, held annually every January 9, attracts devotees from all walks of life because the image of the suffering Christ is supposedly miraculous. Up to 8 million Catholics are drawn to the procession each year, few of them discouraged by reported mishaps, injuries and even deaths. – Rappler.com