Post-holiday COVID surge threatens NCR hospital capacities

FILE PHOTO: Health workers attend to patients inside the emergency room of a Cavite hospital in August last year. The hospital had reached full capacity at that time. RICHARD A. REYES/INQUIRER

MANILA, Philippines—After the holiday cheers came the coughs, colds, and fever among many Filipinos—partly because of the flu season, but also due to the recent spike in SARS-CoV-2 infections in the country.

As the health department declared Metro Manila at “critical risk” for COVID transmission, the threat grew that Metro Manila hospitals could suffer from overcapacity because of a surge in cases and patients.

READ: Metro Manila now at ‘critical risk’ for COVID-19 transmission – Duque

Six of 21 hospitals in Metro Manila, which had been on critical status because of a tsunami of COVID-19 cases, have already reached 100 percent bed occupancy, according to data from the Department of Health (DOH) as of January 7.

These were:

• Las Piñas General Hospital and Satellite Trauma Center
• Recuenco General Hospital, Inc.
• Research Institute for Tropical Medicine
• San Juan De Dios Educational Foundation Inc.
• The Premier Medical Center
• VRP Medical Center

At situation in least 26 hospitals were listed as high-risk, 17 hospitals were classified as moderate risk, and 93 hospitals with safe occupancy rates.

Graphic by Ed Lustan

The health department further said that 50.87 percent, or 2,342 of 2,342 isolation beds, and 62.29 percent or 2,720 of 4,367 ward beds in NCR are occupied.

In addition, some 51.14 percent—or 628—of 1,228 total Intensive Care Units (ICU) beds solely for COVID-19 patients in Metro Manila hospitals are already in use, according to the same DOH data.

Overall, the DOH noted that the bed occupancy rate for the whole NCR reached 55.8 percent, which the department classified as safe—5,690 of the total 10,347 beds in use.

Recent DOH report also showed that 159 facilities have submitted data and were categorized based on their occupancy levels.

Graphic by Ed Lustan

In terms of the availability of mechanical ventilators in the region, at least 26.93 percent were in use as of Jan. 7, or 283 out of 1,051 total equipment.

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

Critical means hospitals have already reached more than 85 percent of COVID bed capacity.

Graphic by Ed Lustan

High risk means 70 percent of available beds are occupied.

Moderate means 60 to 70 percent of COVID beds are occupied.

Safe means the occupancy rate of COVID beds is less than 60 percent.

Dominant variant: Delta vs Omicron

Health Undersecretary Leopoldo Vega, who also serves as the country’s treatment czar, said last week that the Omicron—which has been found to be more transmissible than Delta—may become the dominant SARS Cov2 variant in the country.

“I think in about three to four weeks, as predicted, the Omicron will be dominant in terms of 50 percent or 90 percent of the cases, overtaking the Delta virus, but the Delta virus is definitely still around with us,” he said.

READ: Omicron may become dominant COVID-19 variant in 3 – 4 weeks — DOH Usec

As of Jan. 6, the DOH recorded a total of 43 cases of COVID-19 caused by the highly transmissible Omicron variant.

READ: DOH confirms 29 more cases of COVID-19 Omicron variant

Dr. Rotgene Solante, an infectious disease expert, also noted that there is already community transmission of Omicron—citing the sudden increase of the number of people who became positive “with just a short duration of time and most of them manifesting with upper respiratory tract symptoms.”

READ: Community transmission of Omicron variant already happening — expert

Still, on Jan. 7, the health department clarified that the post-holiday surge in COVID-19 cases could still be Delta-driven and not yet due to the Omicron variant.

“While Omicron is a variant of concern, most of the circulating cases are caused by the previously identified variants. At present, the Delta variant remains to be the most transmissive variant,” a DOH advisory read.

READ: DOH: Current surge still Delta-driven

NCR hospital status

INQUIRER.net analyzed the most recent available data—January 7, 2021—from the DOH’s COVID-19 tracker.

This report seeks to show how prepared Metro Manila hospitals are, should there be a rush in COVID infections in the capital, which remains the epicenter of the health crisis in the Philippines and accounts for more than half of the country’s economy.

Graphic by Ed Lustan

However, only hospitals in Metro Manila that have information on COVID-19 bed allocation for the treatment of new coronavirus patients were included in this article.

Critical

1. Asian Hospital Inc. – 92.7 percent
2. Bernardino General Hospital I – 88.2 percent
3. F.Y. Manalo Medical Foundation – 96.2 percent
4. Las Piñas General Hospital and Satellite Trauma Center – 100 percent
5. Makati Medical Center – 94 percent
6. Mandaluyong City Medical Center – 93.3 percent
7. Metropolitan Medical Center – 98.9 percent
8. National Kidney and Transplant Institute – 98.6 percent
9. Novaliches District Hospital – 89.6 percent
10. Novaliches General Hospital, Inc. – 88.9 percent
11. Ospital ng Muntinlupa – 90.3 percent
12. Pasig Doctors Medical Center, Inc. – 88.9 percent
13. Recuenco General Hospital, Inc. – 100 percent
14. Research Institute for Tropical Medicine – 100 percent
15. Rosario Maclang Bautista General Hospital – 90.7 percent
16. San Juan De Dios Educational Foundation Inc. – 100 percent
17. St. Luke’s Medical Center – Global City – 93.2 percent
18. The Premier Medical Center – 100 percent
19. Tondo Medical Center – 92.8 percent
20. UP  Philippine General Hospital – 95.1 percent
21. VRP Medical Center – 100 percent

High-risk

1. Adventist Medical Center Manila – 76.9 percent
2. Amang Rodriguez Memorial Medical Center – 80.4 percent
3. Bernardino General  Hospital II – 77.8 percent
4. Caloocan City Medical Center – 84.4 percent
5. Capitol Medical Center, Inc. – 72.4 percent
6. Chinese General Hospital and Medical Center – 82.5 percent
7. De Los Santos Medical Center – 71.4 percent
8. E Zarate Hospital – 77.8 percent
9. East Avenue Medical Center – 73.4 percent
10. FEU – Dr. Nicanor Reyes Medical Foundation, Inc. – 79.4 percent
11. Marikina Valley Medical Center – 74.2 percent
12. Medical Center Manila, Inc. – 78.7 percent
13. National Children’s Hospital – 73.8 percent
14. Olivarez General Hospital, Inc. – 80 percent
15. Ospital ng Makati – 76.9 percent
16. Ospital ng Sampaloc – 84.6 percent
17. Ospital ng Tondo – 80 percent
18. Pasay City General Hospital – 77.5 percent
19. Pasig City Children’s Hospital Child’s Hope – 76.6 percent
20. Philippine Children’s Medical Center – 84.4 percent
21. Sta. Ana Hospital – 81.6 percent
22. The Medical City – 80.8 percent
23. University of Perpetual Help Dalta Medical Center, Inc. – 80.8 percent
24. Valenzuela Medical Center – 73.1 percent
25. Veterans Memorial Medical Center – 70.8 percent
26. Victoriano Luna Medical Center – 81.7 percent

Moderate

1. Air Force General Hospital – 64 percent
2. Cardinal Santos Medical Center – 66.3 percent
3. Christ the King Medical Center Unihealth Las Piñas, Inc. – 66.7 percent
4. Commonwealth Hospital and Medical Center – 61.8 percent
5. Dr. Jose N. Rodriguez Memorial Hospital – 65.8 percent
6. Justice Jose Abad Santos General Hospital – 61.8 percent
7. Las Piñas City Medical Center – 60 percent
8. Marikina Doctors Hospital and Medical Center, Inc. – 60 percent
9. Medical Center Muntinlupa, Inc. – 65.4 percent
10. Medical Center of Taguig City, Inc. – 63 percent
11. Medical Center Parañaque, Inc. – 60 percent
12. Pasig City General Hospital – 60.9 percent
13. Quirino Memorial Medical Center – 65 percent
14. San Juan Medical Center – 60.2 percent
15. San Lorenzo Ruiz General Hospital – 66.7 percent
16. St. Luke’s Medical Center – 60.6 percent
17. Valenzuela Citicare Medical Center Timog Hilaga Providence Group, Inc. – 66.7 percent

Safe

1. A Zarate General Hospital – No occupied beds
2. Acebedo General Hospital – No occupied beds
3. Alabang Medical Center – No occupied beds
4. Alabang Medical Clinic – 33.3 percent
5. Alabang Medical Clinic Las Piñas Branch – 50 percent
6. Alabang Medical Clinic Muntinlupa Branch – 12.5 percent
7. Alfonso Specialist Hospital – No occupied beds
8. Allied Care Experts (ACE) Medical Center – Pateros, Inc. – 27.8 percent
9. Allied Care Experts (ACE) Medical Center – Quezon City, Inc. – 57.9 percent
10. Allied Care Experts (ACE) Medical Center – Valenzuela, Inc. – 39.6 percent
11. Army General Hospital – 28.7 percent
12. Bermudez Polymedic Hospital – 33.3 percent
13. Calalang General Hospital – No occupied beds
14. Cruz-Rabe Maternity and General Hospital – No occupied beds
15. Cure and Care Maternity Hospital OPC – No occupied beds
16. De Ocampo Memorial Medical Center – No occupied beds
17. Diliman Doctors Hospital, Inc. – 44.7 percent
18. Divine Heart Medical Service and Development Cooperative Hospital – No occupied beds
19. Dr. Fe Del Mundo Medical Center – 41.9 percent
20. Dr. Jesus C. Delgado Memorial Hospital – 50 percent
21. Dr. Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital – 18.8 percent
22. Dr. Montano G. Ramos General Hospital Corporation – 12.5 percent
23. Dr. Sabili Health Services Corporation – No occupied beds
24. Fairview General Hospital, Inc. – 18.2 percent
25. Fatima University Medical Center, Corporation – 43.5 percent
26. Foundation of Our Lady of Peace Mission, Inc. – Our Lady of Peace Hospital – 4.3 percent
27. Garcia General Hospital – No occupied beds
28. Gat Andres Bonifacio Memorial Medical Center – 44 percent
29. Gen. Miguel Malvar Medical Research Foundation, Inc. – No occupied beds
30. Holylife Hospital – 14.3 percent
31. Hospital of the Infant Jesus Medical Center – 11.9 percent
32. J.P. Sioson General Hospital and Colleges, Inc. – No occupied beds
33. Jose R. Reyes Memorial Medical Center – 40.3 percent
34. Las Piñas Doctors Hospital, Inc. – 22.4 percent
35. Lung Center of the Philippines – 54 percent
36. Manila Doctors Hospital – 35.8 percent
37. Manila Naval Hospital – 33.3 percent
38. Marikina St. Vincent General Hospital, Inc. – 10 percent
39. Martinez Memorial Hospital, Inc. – 10 percent
40. Mary Chiles General Hospital, Inc. – 38.2 percent
41. Mary Johnston Hospital, Inc. – 33.3 percent
42. MCPC St. Therese of Lisieux Doctors Hospital – No occupied beds
43. MCU – FDT Medical Foundation Hospital – 46.2 percent
44. Metro North Medical Center and Hospital Inc. – 32 percent
45. Mission Hospital – 50 percent
46. National Center for Mental Health – 22.5 percent
47. Navotas City Hospital – 40 percent
48. Nodado General Hospital – 16.7 percent
49. North Caloocan Doctors Hospital, Inc. – No occupied beds
50. Ospital ng Malabon – 30 percent
51. Ospital ng Maynila Medical Center – 44 percent
52. Ospital ng Parañaque – 12 percent
53. Our Lady of Grace Hospital, Inc. – No occupied beds
54. Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Inc. – 39.3 percent
55. Pacific Global Medical Center, Inc. – 25 percent
56. Perpetual Succor Hospital & Maternity, Inc. – No occupied beds
57. Philippine Heart Center – 51.8 percent
58. Philippine Orthopedic Center – 40 percent
59. Pope John Paul II Hospital and Medical Center Inc. – 50 percent
60. Protacio Hospital – 33.3 percent
61. Providence Hospital, Inc. – 57.9 percent
62. Queensberry Hospital – No occupied beds
63. Quezon City General Hospital – 59.6 percent
64. Quezon Institute – No occupied beds
65. Rizal Medical Center – 27.1 percent
66. Sabater General Hospital, Inc. – No occupied beds
67. Salve Reginal General Hospital, Inc. – No occupied beds
68. San Lazaro Hospital – 29.1 percent
69. San Lorenzo Hospital Health Management Co., Inc. – No occupied beds
70. SDS Medical Center – 57.1 percent
71. Seamen’s Hospital – 42.9 percent
72. South Superhighway Medical Center – 33.3 percent
73. St. Anthony Medical Center of Marikina, Inc. – No occupied beds
74. St. Camillus Medical Center – 15.4 percent
75. St. Christiana Maternity Hospital – No occupied beds
76. St. Clare’s Medical Center, Inc. – No occupied beds
77. St. Jude General Hospital and Medical Center – 11.8 percent
78. St. Martin De Porres Charity Hospital – No occupied beds
79. St. Victoria Hospital – No occupied beds
80. Sta. Teresita General Hospital – 20 percent
81. Taguig-Pateros District Hospital – 56 percent
82. Tricity Medical Center, Inc. – 30.8 percent
83. Trinity Woman and Child Center “The Birthplace” – No occupied beds
84. U.E.R.M Memorial Hospital – 46.2 percent
85. UHBI-Parañaque Doctors Hospital, Inc. – 30 percent
86. Unihealth Parañaque Hospital and Medical Center, Inc. – 45.5 percent
87. United Doctors Medical Center – No occupied beds
88. University of Santo Tomas – 28.8 percent
89. Urology Center of the Philippines, Inc. – No occupied beds
90. Villarosa Hospital, Inc. – No occupied beds
91. VT Maternity Hospital – No occupied beds
92. Word of Hope General Hospital Foundation, Inc. – No occupied beds
93. World Citi Medical Center – 58.3 percent

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