COVID pressure on NCR hospitals easing

This photo taken on April 6, 2021 shows a relative wearing personal protective equipment attending to a family member with COVID-19 at a makeshift ward in a hospital in Manila. – More contagious variants of the coronavirus have been blamed for a record surge in infections in Metro Manila that has overwhelmed hospitals and sent the national capital region into lockdown. (Photo by JAM STA ROSA / AFP)

MANILA, Philippines — Four of eight hospitals in Metro Manila that had been on critical status have already reached 100 percent bed occupancy, according to data from the Department of Health (DOH) as of June 23.

These were:

• F.Y. Manalo Medical Foundation
• Metro North Medical Center and Hospital Inc.
• Philippine Orthopedic Center
• VRP Medical Center

The number, though, was lower than 10 hospitals tagged as critical and five with fully used COVID-19 beds last June 9.

COVID-19 slows down in NCR, eases pressure on hospitals

At least 12 hospitals remained on the high-risk list, higher than the eight listed on June 9.

GRAPHIC BY ED LUSTAN

Five hospitals were on the moderate risk list while a total of 131 hospitals were on the safe list.

Recent data also showed that 159 facilities had submitted numbers and had been categorized based on occupancy of COVID-19 beds.

Also, at least 44.98 percent or 521 of 1,182 total intensive care unit (ICU) beds solely for COVID-19 in Metro Manila hospitals are already in use, according to the same DOH data.

The DOH said 38.84 percent, or 1,872 out of 4,820 isolation beds, and 32.60 percent, or 1,161 of 3,561 ward beds, in NCR are occupied.

It said the bed occupancy rate for the entire NCR went down to 37.2 percent. It was in the “safe zone” with 3,554 of total 9,563 beds in use.

DOH classifies occupancy levels for COVID-19 beds in health centers as critical, high risk, moderate and safe.

Critical hospitals are those with 85 percent bed occupancy rates. High-risk hospitals are those with 70 percent bed occupancy and those with 60 to 70 percent bed occupancy are considered to be at moderate risk.

Hospitals are considered in the safe level if bed occupancy is less than 60 percent.

INQUIRER.net analyzed the latest available data—June 23, 2021—based on DOH’s COVID-19 tracker.

This report seeks to show hospital preparedness in Metro Manila should there be a deluge of coronavirus infections in the Philippine capital, which is still the epicenter of the health catastrophe.

But only hospitals in Metro Manila that have information on COVID-19 bed allocation were included.

Critical

The eight hospitals identified as under critical level were in:

Quezon City: 5

Mandaluyong: 1

Las Piñas: 1

Marikina: 1

Those with full COVID-19 bed capacity were scattered around:

Quezon City: 3

Mandaluyong: 1

High-risk

Quezon City: 7

Manila: 1

Las Piñas: 1

Muntinlupa: 1

Mandaluyong: 1

Makati: 1

Moderate

Pasig: 1

Las Piñas: 1

Muntinlupa: 1

Taguig: 1

Safe

Quezon City: 32

Manila: 25

Pasig: 14

Caloocan: 9

Paranaque: 9

Las Pinas: 6

Muntinlupa: 5

Taguig: 7

Marikina: 7

San Juan: 3

Pasay: 4

Mandaluyong: 1

Valenzuela: 4

Navotas: 1

Malabon: 2

Makati: 2

While the hospital scene gradually improved in Metro Manila, the health department recently flagged 33 priority areas in several provinces because of a surge in infections and high bed capacity use.

READ: DOH marks 33 ‘priority areas’ over rising COVID-19 cases, high hospital occupancy

On June 24, the DOH reported 6,043 new cases of COVID-19, driving the nationwide count to 1,378,260 including 51,410 active cases, 1,302,814 recovered patients, and 24,036 deaths.

6,043 new COVID-19 cases raise PH’s active cases to 51,410

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