MANILA, Philippines — Bed occupancy in COVID-19 intensive care units (ICU) and wards in Quezon City hospitals are already hitting “critical” levels, Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte said Wednesday.
Belmonte said COVID-19 ICU beds in all hospitals in the city — public, private and government-owned — are already filled up to 78%, while COVID-19 wards are 77% occupied.
Meanwhile, isolation beds are already 68% occupied, which is near the critical level of 70%.
The city has an overall total of 2,032 hospital beds for COVID-19 patients, Belmonte noted.
She added that COVID-19 wards in three government hospitals — Quezon City General Hospital, Rosario Maclang Bautista General Hospital, and Novaliches District Hospital — are already “fully booked.”
The said hospitals are compliant with the mandated 30% bed allocation for COVID-19 patients, she said.
“Overall, we are alarmed at the state of hospitals here in Quezon City,” Belmonte said in a press briefing.
Meanwhile, quarantine facilities in the barangays are only 18.98% occupied while the city’s quarantine centers are only 40.40% occupied.
As of Wednesday, the city has 3,812 active cases of COVID-19, 32,594 recoveries, and 866 deaths.
Amid the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the city, the local government has imposed a two-week liquor ban in an attempt to curb the spread of the deadly respiratory disease.
The supplemental guidelines also include a reiteration of public safety hours, strict compliance to health protocols in workplaces, and mandatory use of the Kyusi Pass digital contact tracing app.
The QC government has also ordered the closure of spas and gyms, which are considered as “high risk” areas of COVID-19 transmission.