MANILA, Philippines — Angelo Barrera’s father struggled to breathe from COVID-19 as he was driven around the Philippine capital in search of a hospital bed. After five hours he got on a waitlist but died before he could get inside.
More contagious variants of the coronavirus have been blamed for a record surge in infections in Metro Manila that has overstretched hospitals and sent the national capital region into lockdown.
Long queues at emergency rooms have forced people to drive from one health facility to the next in search of treatment, in a situation described by a hospital official as a “nightmare”.
“They went to eight hospitals physically — it was full…
Keep on reading: ‘Full capacity everywhere’: Manila hospitals struggle as virus surges