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
- Asian Hospital Inc. – 92.7 percent
- Bernardino General Hospital I – 88.2 percent
- F.Y. Manalo Medical Foundation – 96.2 percent
- Las Piñas General Hospital and Satellite Trauma Center – 100 percent
- Makati Medical Center – 94 percent
- Mandaluyong City Medical Center – 93.3 percent
- Metropolitan Medical Center – 98.9 percent
- National Kidney and Transplant Institute – 98.6 percent
- Novaliches District Hospital – 89.6 percent
- Novaliches General Hospital, Inc. – 88.9 percent
- Ospital ng Muntinlupa – 90.3 percent
- Pasig Doctors Medical Center, Inc. – 88.9 percent
- Recuenco General Hospital, Inc. – 100 percent
- Research Institute for Tropical Medicine – 100 percent
- Rosario Maclang Bautista General Hospital – 90.7 percent
- San Juan De Dios Educational Foundation Inc. – 100 percent
- St. Luke’s Medical Center – Global City – 93.2 percent
- The Premier Medical Center – 100 percent
- Tondo Medical Center – 92.8 percent
- UP Philippine General Hospital – 95.1 percent
- VRP Medical Center – 100 percent
High-risk
- Adventist Medical Center Manila – 76.9 percent
- Amang Rodriguez Memorial Medical Center – 80.4 percent
- Bernardino General Hospital II – 77.8 percent
- Caloocan City Medical Center – 84.4 percent
- Capitol Medical Center, Inc. – 72.4 percent
- Chinese General Hospital and Medical Center – 82.5 percent
- De Los Santos Medical Center – 71.4 percent
- E Zarate Hospital – 77.8 percent
- East Avenue Medical Center – 73.4 percent
- FEU – Dr. Nicanor Reyes Medical Foundation, Inc. – 79.4 percent
- Marikina Valley Medical Center – 74.2 percent
- Medical Center Manila, Inc. – 78.7 percent
- National Children’s Hospital – 73.8 percent
- Olivarez General Hospital, Inc. – 80 percent
- Ospital ng Makati – 76.9 percent
- Ospital ng Sampaloc – 84.6 percent
- Ospital ng Tondo – 80 percent
- Pasay City General Hospital – 77.5 percent
- Pasig City Children’s Hospital Child’s Hope – 76.6 percent
- Philippine Children’s Medical Center – 84.4 percent
- Sta. Ana Hospital – 81.6 percent
- The Medical City – 80.8 percent
- University of Perpetual Help Dalta Medical Center, Inc. – 80.8 percent
- Valenzuela Medical Center – 73.1 percent
- Veterans Memorial Medical Center – 70.8 percent
- Victoriano Luna Medical Center – 81.7 percent
Moderate
- Air Force General Hospital – 64 percent
- Cardinal Santos Medical Center – 66.3 percent
- Christ the King Medical Center Unihealth Las Piñas, Inc. – 66.7 percent
- Commonwealth Hospital and Medical Center – 61.8 percent
- Dr. Jose N. Rodriguez Memorial Hospital – 65.8 percent
- Justice Jose Abad Santos General Hospital – 61.8 percent
- Las Piñas City Medical Center – 60 percent
- Marikina Doctors Hospital and Medical Center, Inc. – 60 percent
- Medical Center Muntinlupa, Inc. – 65.4 percent
- Medical Center of Taguig City, Inc. – 63 percent
- Medical Center Parañaque, Inc. – 60 percent
- Pasig City General Hospital – 60.9 percent
- Quirino Memorial Medical Center – 65 percent
- San Juan Medical Center – 60.2 percent
- San Lorenzo Ruiz General Hospital – 66.7 percent
- St. Luke’s Medical Center – 60.6 percent
- Valenzuela Citicare Medical Center Timog Hilaga Providence Group, Inc. – 66.7 percent
Safe
- A Zarate General Hospital – No occupied beds
- Acebedo General Hospital – No occupied beds
- Alabang Medical Center – No occupied beds
- Alabang Medical Clinic – 33.3 percent
- Alabang Medical Clinic Las Piñas Branch – 50 percent
- Alabang Medical Clinic Muntinlupa Branch – 12.5 percent
- Alfonso Specialist Hospital – No occupied beds
- Allied Care Experts (ACE) Medical Center – Pateros, Inc. – 27.8 percent
- Allied Care Experts (ACE) Medical Center – Quezon City, Inc. – 57.9 percent
- Allied Care Experts (ACE) Medical Center – Valenzuela, Inc. – 39.6 percent
- Army General Hospital – 28.7 percent
- Bermudez Polymedic Hospital – 33.3 percent
- Calalang General Hospital – No occupied beds
- Cruz-Rabe Maternity and General Hospital – No occupied beds
- Cure and Care Maternity Hospital OPC – No occupied beds
- De Ocampo Memorial Medical Center – No occupied beds
- Diliman Doctors Hospital, Inc. – 44.7 percent
- Divine Heart Medical Service and Development Cooperative Hospital – No occupied beds
- Dr. Fe Del Mundo Medical Center – 41.9 percent
- Dr. Jesus C. Delgado Memorial Hospital – 50 percent
- Dr. Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital – 18.8 percent
- Dr. Montano G. Ramos General Hospital Corporation – 12.5 percent
- Dr. Sabili Health Services Corporation – No occupied beds
- Fairview General Hospital, Inc. – 18.2 percent
- Fatima University Medical Center, Corporation – 43.5 percent
- Foundation of Our Lady of Peace Mission, Inc. – Our Lady of Peace Hospital – 4.3 percent
- Garcia General Hospital – No occupied beds
- Gat Andres Bonifacio Memorial Medical Center – 44 percent
- Gen. Miguel Malvar Medical Research Foundation, Inc. – No occupied beds
- Holylife Hospital – 14.3 percent
- Hospital of the Infant Jesus Medical Center – 11.9 percent
- J.P. Sioson General Hospital and Colleges, Inc. – No occupied beds
- Jose R. Reyes Memorial Medical Center – 40.3 percent
- Las Piñas Doctors Hospital, Inc. – 22.4 percent
- Lung Center of the Philippines – 54 percent
- Manila Doctors Hospital – 35.8 percent
- Manila Naval Hospital – 33.3 percent
- Marikina St. Vincent General Hospital, Inc. – 10 percent
- Martinez Memorial Hospital, Inc. – 10 percent
- Mary Chiles General Hospital, Inc. – 38.2 percent
- Mary Johnston Hospital, Inc. – 33.3 percent
- MCPC St. Therese of Lisieux Doctors Hospital – No occupied beds
- MCU – FDT Medical Foundation Hospital – 46.2 percent
- Metro North Medical Center and Hospital Inc. – 32 percent
- Mission Hospital – 50 percent
- National Center for Mental Health – 22.5 percent
- Navotas City Hospital – 40 percent
- Nodado General Hospital – 16.7 percent
- North Caloocan Doctors Hospital, Inc. – No occupied beds
- Ospital ng Malabon – 30 percent
- Ospital ng Maynila Medical Center – 44 percent
- Ospital ng Parañaque – 12 percent
- Our Lady of Grace Hospital, Inc. – No occupied beds
- Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Inc. – 39.3 percent
- Pacific Global Medical Center, Inc. – 25 percent
- Perpetual Succor Hospital & Maternity, Inc. – No occupied beds
- Philippine Heart Center – 51.8 percent
- Philippine Orthopedic Center – 40 percent
- Pope John Paul II Hospital and Medical Center Inc. – 50 percent
- Protacio Hospital – 33.3 percent
- Providence Hospital, Inc. – 57.9 percent
- Queensberry Hospital – No occupied beds
- Quezon City General Hospital – 59.6 percent
- Quezon Institute – No occupied beds
- Rizal Medical Center – 27.1 percent
- Sabater General Hospital, Inc. – No occupied beds
- Salve Reginal General Hospital, Inc. – No occupied beds
- San Lazaro Hospital – 29.1 percent
- San Lorenzo Hospital Health Management Co., Inc. – No occupied beds
- SDS Medical Center – 57.1 percent
- Seamen’s Hospital – 42.9 percent
- South Superhighway Medical Center – 33.3 percent
- St. Anthony Medical Center of Marikina, Inc. – No occupied beds
- St. Camillus Medical Center – 15.4 percent
- St. Christiana Maternity Hospital – No occupied beds
- St. Clare’s Medical Center, Inc. – No occupied beds
- St. Jude General Hospital and Medical Center – 11.8 percent
- St. Martin De Porres Charity Hospital – No occupied beds
- St. Victoria Hospital – No occupied beds
- Sta. Teresita General Hospital – 20 percent
- Taguig-Pateros District Hospital – 56 percent
- Tricity Medical Center, Inc. – 30.8 percent
- Trinity Woman and Child Center “The Birthplace” – No occupied beds
- U.E.R.M Memorial Hospital – 46.2 percent
- UHBI-Parañaque Doctors Hospital, Inc. – 30 percent
- Unihealth Parañaque Hospital and Medical Center, Inc. – 45.5 percent
- United Doctors Medical Center – No occupied beds
- University of Santo Tomas – 28.8 percent
- Urology Center of the Philippines, Inc. – No occupied beds
- Villarosa Hospital, Inc. – No occupied beds
- VT Maternity Hospital – No occupied beds
- Word of Hope General Hospital Foundation, Inc. – No occupied beds
- World Citi Medical Center – 58.3 percent