Nurse takes scooter to work, lands in hospital

MANILA, Philippines — With public transport scarce due to the enhanced community quarantine, a nurse turned to an electric scooter to make sure that her work in a Quezon City hospital would not be interrupted as the country battles the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

But 29-year-old Kathryn Kate Quinto Napoles of Maunlad Street, V. Luna, Quezon City never imagined that the electric scooter would land her in hospital last March 30 with a fractured right wrist and scraped knees after an accident.

“It was my first time having an electric scooter so I was practicing how to operate it in our neighborhood. I miscalculated and hit a gutter so I fell hard to the ground. All I wanted was to have an alternative means of transportation so that I can attend to my hospital duties uninterrupted,” she told The STAR.

Napoles got the scooter as a gift from her husband Nix Samson that same day because he took pity on her having to walk to and from the hospital.

She used to back-ride with her brother, Ian Napoles, on his motorcycle but they were accosted by traffic enforcers for violating the policy on social distancing.

She took the shuttle service but the pick-up and drop-off points are 10 blocks away from her home.

“I am already so exhausted from work so I don’t have the energy anymore to walk a distance. The plan was for my brother to escort me while I was on the scooter since I am on night duty,” said Napoles, who has been a nurse for almost 10 years.

But because of the accident, she will be on the sidelines and undergo surgery to correct her fractured wrist.

While the accident has practically kept her away from the risk of contracting COVID-19 at the hospital, Napoles said she is not happy about it at all.

“It’s depressing. We are already short-handed at the hospital, and then this has to happen. I want to be with my colleagues on the frontline,” she added.

Napoles had made it her dream to become a nurse ever since her stepfather had a heart attack when she was in third year high school.

She loves serving patients and does not want anything – not even COVID-19 – to get in the way of fulfilling her duties.

Negros doctor may face raps

Meanwhile, a hospital in Sagay City, Negros Occidental has been temporarily closed for admission and consultation after a female doctor, who arrived from Manila last March 11, reportedly attended to patients at the government medical facility despite being classified as a person under investigation (PUI) for COVID-19.

If the doctor is proven to have breached the COVID-19 protocol, the Sagay City government could file a case against her for irresponsible action that put the lives of Sagaynons and hospital frontliners in grave danger, Sagay City Mayor Alfredo Marañon III said in a public advisory.

The doctor is a consultant of the Alfredo Marañon Sr. Memorial District Hospital in Barangay Bato, Sagay City.

Aside from the temporary closure of the hospital until April 5 for disinfection, Marañon said hospital nurses were also placed under quarantine, clarifying that the hospital is not under lockdown.

The doctor, Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said, was supposed to undergo “automatic self-quarantine” after arriving from Manila.

Provincial health officer Ernell Tumimbang disclosed that contact tracing of persons who met with the doctor is now ongoing.

The swab test result of the doctor is expected to be released today, Lacson said. – Sheila Crisostomo, Gilbert Bayoran