SPMC. Photo from Facebook
DAVAO CITY, Davao del Sur, Philippines — The Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC) is close to running out of intensive care unit (ICU) beds as new COVID-19 cases in the city experienced a surge since the previous week.
“Our hospital utilization rate is already at critical level, particularly SPMC, where almost everyday, our ICU beds are almost 100 per cent occupied, our isolation and COVID-19 ward beds are at 70 percent,” said Dr. Ashley Lopez, acting head of the Davao City Health Office and focal person for COVID-19.
“These are indicators that (we are reaching) critical level,” he added.
He said the city had been experiencing a surge of COVID-19 cases as average active cases in the city hovered at 90 to more than 100 cases per day in the recent week.
“Cases are rising,” Lopez said over the city government-run Davao City Disaster Radio. “There is already a surge not just in Davao City but also in the whole of Mindanao,” he added.
As of 6 p.m. on May 25, the Department of Health (DOH) reported 173 new active cases in Davao City for the day alone, which brought to 1,035 the total number of active cases in the city.
Of the 16,101 COVID-19 cases monitored in the city since pandemic was declared in March 2020, at least 14,251 cases recovered but 739 died.
Lopez also said that SPMC, as a national hospital, catered not only to patients from Davao City or the Davao region but from all over Mindanao as well.
“We cannot just limit it to patients in Davao City, everyone should be accommodated there. That’s why we are calling on our private hospitals to open up and allocate COVID-19 beds so that we can help those patients who could no longer be accommodated by the SPMC,” he said.
He said the mayor’s latest executive order prohibiting face-to-face activities for non-essential and non-emergency essential gatherings in the city would hopefully help curb the surge in COVID-19 cases.
Mayor Sara Duterte issued Executive Order No 31, Series of 2021, banning all non-essential face-to-face activities that included launchings, anniversary celebrations, among others; and non-emergency essential gatherings that included regular programs of the government that involved the gathering of people. The order which was signed on May 24, took effect on May 26.
Lopez admitted that some of the new COVID-19 cases were contracted during the regular programs of the government, which involved the gathering of people and urged that all activities be held online instead.