WHO: Hospitalization for severe COVID cases, isolation facilities for mild ones

MANILA, Philippines — The World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday urged Philippine hospitals to only admit coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients with severe symptoms and refer those with mild symptoms to isolation centers to avoid overcrowding of facilities.

CHALLENGING TIMES FOR PGH Two respiratory therapists set up a mechanical ventilator
for COVID-19 patients at the critical care unit of the Philippine General Hospital on Thursday.
The government-run hospital is currently trying the convalescent plasma therapy to treat the
disease. —LYN RILLON

While the Department of Health (DOH) has already reminded hospitals to refer mild and asymptomatic COVID-19 patients to temporary facilities, WHO – Philippines representative Dr. Rabindra Abeyasinghe said there are still some hospitals in the country which continue to admit COVID-19 patients with mild symptoms.

“Many hospitals are still admitting mild patients into the wards and that is why we are advocating for hospitals not to admit mild cases but those cases to be admitted to isolation centers so that they can be managed without crowding the hospitals,” Abeyasinghe said during a Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines (FOCAP) online forum.

“Unfortunately, we see in the case of some hospitals that a significant proportion of people admitted to hospitals are still mild cases,” he added.

By limiting the type of COVID-19 patients admitted to medical facilities, the WHO official said it would “free up hospital space for the ones who have signs of severe disease…who will actually benefit from the care in hospitals.”

Earlier, the DOH said that critical care capacity for intensive care unit (ICU) beds in the country has reached its “danger zone.”

The DOH had also said at least 11 hospitals in Metro Manila have reached the full capacity of their beds dedicated to COVID-19 patients.

Abeyasinghe likewise said that the government needs to intensify its contact tracing drive to identify where the transmission is happening and to implement measures to control the same.

“As we suppress transmission, the number of people requiring hospitalization will decrease,” he added.

Philippine health officials have so far confirmed a total of 57,006 COVID-19 cases. Of the number, 20,371 have recovered while 1,599 others have died.

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