5 to 10 people die every day in PGH due to COVID-19 — spokesperson

MANILA, Philippines — At least five to 10 people die every day in the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) due to COVID-19, the hospital’s spokesperson said on Monday.

At the same time, PGH spokesperson Dr. Jonas Del Rosario disclosed that the hospital’s ward and intensive care units are still at full capacity.

“Napapansin namin, for the past four weeks, at least minimum of 5 deaths per day ang nakukuha namin sa PGH. A range of 5-10, depende,” said PGH spokesperson Dr. Jonas Del Rosario in an interview over ABS-CBN’s TeleRadyo.

(We’ve noticed for the past four weeks, there have been a minimum of five deaths per day in PGH. It ranges from 5 to 10.)

“Kasi yung iba talagang pagdating nila sa ospital, malubha na. Yung iba naman po may mga comorbid conditions talaga. Yung iba maaaring delay na sila makapasok, marami pa silang pinanggalingan,” he added.

(When some of them arrive at the hospital, their condition is already severe. Others have comorbid conditions. Others might have been delayed in admission.)

Del Rosario also noted that there are still many COVID-19 patients being admitted in PGH even after the government downgraded the quarantine status from the strict enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) to modified ECQ.

“Parang ‘di pa namin nararamdaman yung pagbaba ng bilang … talagang madami pa rin kaming inaadmit, puno ang aming ICU, ang numero ay hindi bumababa ng less than 200,” he said.

(We haven’t felt the decrease in the number of patients yet … we are still admitting many patients. Our ICU is full, and the number of patients is not dropping below 200.)

According to Del Rosario, 225 of 250 patients in the hospital are COVID-19 positive.

“Ang dami yan naka-waitlist kasi yung iba, hindi namin ma-admit dahil either talagang wala kaming bakanteng room lalo na po sa ICU,” said Del Rosario

(A lot of them are on the waitlist because we don’t have any vacant rooms especially in the ICU.)

He explained that many of the patients who want to transfer to PGH are in severe or critical condition.

Del Rosario added that the PGH is actively hiring doctors, nurses, and med techs to compensate for its limitations and to boost manpower.

He also said that the hospital has limited the patients it accepts, adding that for now, aside from COVID-19 positive patients, PGH only accepts non-COVID-19 patients with life-threatening emergencies and imminent deliveries.

The PGH has also partnered with the Armed Forces of the Philippines Medical Center for the treatment of patients with mild to moderate conditions, according to Del Rosario.

He added that PGH is also actively seeking partnerships with other smaller hospitals and facilities, saying that the hospital was “trying to look for other facilities, which can actually absorb some of our recovering patients.”

“Hindi mo na kailangan magpagaling ng kumpleto sa hospital, para yung mas malubha mai-admit na dahil may opening ka,” he said.

(You don’t have to recover completely in the hospital, so that people with more severe cases can be admitted after you.)

In addition, to further reduce the influx of patients in PGH, Del Rosario said patients who only need consultation can contact the hospital’s Bayanihan Operations Center to talk with volunteer consultants who are willing to address their COVID-19 concerns.

The Operations center can be contacted through their hotline: 155-200.

“Para po tong teleconsultasyon o teleguidance, ang sasagot mga consultants na,” explained Del Rosario.

(This is like a teleconsultation or teleguidance. The consultants will answer.)

He added that PGH, together with the University of the Philippines – College of Medicine, also started a Facebook page “PGH Telegabay” currently at its soft launch, that seeks to offer home healthcare tips to people who have COVID-19.

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