Six units of negative pressure ambulances were turned over by the provincial government of Negros Occidental to the hospitals it manages as part of its 911 Quick Response Service.
Aside from the regular rescue and emergency functions, the vehicles are equipped with negative pressure air system for the transport of patients severely infected with COVID-19.
A negative pressure air system is needed for the transport of patients with airborne contagious diseases, like the coronavirus, to achieve negative pressure isolation by effectively guaranteeing that the air pressure inside the vehicle is lower than the outside at all times.
Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said these ambulances are part of the additional logistics of the Rescue 911 Team for rapid emergency response.
This is not comparable to the ordinary ambulances that the national government is giving. It has medical apparatus and equipment in place. The negative pressure vehicle is unique and can handle severe cases of infectious diseases, like COVID, similar to treating a patient inside a medical facility, he added.
The vehicles will be stationed in hospitals in Silay, Cadiz, Valladolid, La Carlota, and Kabankalan, and one at the command center at the Panaad Park in Bacolod City.
Lacson said the daily COVID cases have been going down for the past several days, but it is not the time to relax vigilance or compliance with the minimum health protocols.
He added that the province’s aim right now is to lower the active positive cases and have these patients declared fully-recovered.
The Provincial Incident Management Team said that active cases reached 3,644, with 1,197 deaths and 28,063 recoveries, from March 27, 2020 to Oct. 24, 2021. — MML
