'Burnt out': Exhausted and tired, Philippine nurses battle Covid-19 and resignations

A nurse and a hospital worker attending to a patient outside a hospital in Binan, Laguna province south of Manila in a photo taken on Sept 6, 2021. - AFP

Manila, Sept 18, 2021 (AFP) - Exhausted nurses in the Philippines are struggling to care for patients as colleagues contract Covid-19 or quit a profession that was dangerously understaffed even before the pandemic.

The country is enduring a record rise in infections, fuelled by the Delta variant, with the health department reporting a nursing shortfall of more than 100,000 -- forcing those left to work long hours for little pay on often precarious short-term contracts.