PH gov’t banking on more ICU beds to prevent India-like COVID-19 situation

MANILA, Philippines — The government is eyeing to increase the country’s intensive care unit (ICU) beds to prevent the healthcare system from crashing and reaching a similar COVID-19 situation as India, Malacañang said Monday.

In an online briefing, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said he is pushing for 200 more ICU beds on top of the over 300 ICU beds recently established in Metro Manila.

“Kasi nga sa datos ng DOH [Department of Health], 700 pa lang ang ICU beds natin. This has been increased to [1,000]. So are we going to stop at 1,000? No,” Roque said.

(From the DOH’s data, we only have 700 ICU beds. This has been increased to 1,000. So are we going to stop at 1,000? No.)

“I will confirm on my own that as a result of my own hospitalization experience, I’m pushing for at least 200 additional ICU beds. So, that’s part and parcel of foresight. Kasi nga, we can never say if what happened in India will not happen [here],” he added.

Treatment czar and Health Undersecretary Leopoldo Vega, in the same briefing, said Metro Manila’s ICU beds have increased to 1,148 from just 781 back in March.

“Yung pagdadagdag pa, pagpapalaki ng ating healthcare capacity is the long-term plan right now because we all know it’s cheaper to invest in health infrastructure rather than to close the economy muli,” Roque said.

(Increasing, boosting our healthcare capacity  is the long-term plan right now because we all know it’s cheaper to invest in health infrastructure rather than to close the economy again.)

India’s daily COVID-19 cases have soared since the start of April overwhelming hospitals, morgues and crematoriums. On Sunday alone, its daily infections surpassed 400,000.

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