No more hospital beds in NCR? That’s ‘fake news,’ says Palace

MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang on Monday belied reports that there are no more available hospital beds to provide for COVID-19 patients in Metro Manila.

During an online briefing, Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque dismissed these reports as “fake news” and said the critical care utilization of Metro Manila is at 63 percent.

“Ang critical care utilization po ng Metro Manila at ito po ay kasama na yung hospital beds, yung ICU [intensive care unit] beds, yung mechanical ventilator at yung mga isolation beds ay nasa 63 percent or ito po ay moderate risk pa lamang,” Roque said.

(Metro Manila’s critical care utilization, which includes the hospital beds, ICU beds, mechanical ventilator, and isolation beds, is at 63 percent or at moderate risk.)

“Nililinaw po naming na yung mga kumakalat na fake news na ubos na daw po ang mga hospital beds ng ating mga hospital, hindi po yan totoo,” he added.

(We are clearing the fake news that Metro Manila no longer has hospital beds, that’s not true.)

According to the Department of Health’s (DOH) COVID-19 situationer released Sunday, the country has 9,615 isolation beds of which 40.6 percent is occupied; 3,328 ward beds of which 45.3 percent is occupied; 1,306 ICU beds of which 40.7 percent is occupied and 1,971 mechanical ventilators of which 20 percent is used.

Roque said DOH Undersecretary Leopoldo Vega will become the “point person” for determining “critical care utilization and hospital care capacity.”

Vega, chief of the Southern Philippines Medical Center in Davao City, was appointed as DOH official last month.

The Philippines has so far recorded 44,254 COVID-19 cases nationwide, with 1,297 deaths and 11,942 recoveries.

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