Philippine doctors shield families from COVID-19 with 'quarantent', safe spaces

Hundreds of Filipino medical workers have been infected by the coronavirus

Published: June 30, 2020 15:03 Reuters and Compiled by Christian Borbon, Digital Content Editor

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After taking a job in a hospital's COVID-19 emergency room, Philippine doctor Jan Claire Dorado planned to move out of the family home to protect relatives from the risk of infection. Image Credit: REUTERS

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Doctor Jan Claire Dorado steps out of the emergency department after finishing a 12-hour shift at the COVID-19 Emergency Room of East Avenue Medical Center in Metro Manila. Image Credit: Reuters

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But Dorado's parents insisted the 30-year-old keep living at home, so her father constructed a makeshift isolation area in a storage room there. | Doctor Jan Claire Dorado removes her shoes before entering her makeshift isolation room in their home. Image Credit: REUTERS

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But Dorado's parents insisted the 30-year-old keep living at home, so her father constructed a makeshift isolation area in a storage room there. Image Credit: Reuters

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Now, when she returns from work at one of the country's main hospitals treating coronavirus patients, her dinner is placed outside the room's door on a stool. Image Credit: Reuters

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"The hardest part is being away from them. I miss them a lot," said Dorado, who greets family members from behind a plastic window on a wall covered in foil. Image Credit: Reuters

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Her parents are considered high-risk for COVID-19 because of preexisting conditions, and Dorado said she once painfully refused her mother's request for a hug. Image Credit: Reuters

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Doctor Jan Claire Dorado (R) tends to a patient connected to a mechanical ventilator. Image Credit: Reuters

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Hundreds of Philippine medical workers have been infected by the coronavirus and more than 30 have died. | Doctor Jan Claire Dorado puts on personal protective equipment before going in the COVID-19 Emergency Room of East Avenue Medical Center. Image Credit: REUTERS

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Safekeeping loved ones is also a high priority for paediatrician Mica Bastillo, even as she confronts COVID-19 head on. Image Credit: Reuters

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The 38-year-old took on a new role at a children's hospital in another part of Manila after it became a COVID-19 referral facility in April. "My family thought about asking me to resign, but anywhere I go I would still have to face COVID," she said. Image Credit: Reuters

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With her father and sister battling medical conditions, the family built a makeshift tent next to their home for Bastillo, which they dubbed a "quarantent". Image Credit: Reuters

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Made out of plastic sheets to keep out the rain, it allows Bastillo to be with her family at a safe distance. "My mother put the curtains and the table cloth to make it look like home... And my brother added the plastic sheet. Image Credit: Reuters

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It was a real family effort," said Bastillo, who still joins her family for nightly prayers seated beside the front door wearing a mask. | Paediatrician Mica Bastillo joins her family for nightly prayers while maintaining social distance and wearing an N-95 mask to protect her family from potential exposure to COVID-19). Image Credit: Reuters

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