Despite COVID case surge, situation ‘very manageable,’ healthcare utilization rate at low risk – DOH

Patients are watched over by relatives and hospital aides inside the COVID-19 emergency room of the government hospital National Kidney and Transplant Institute, in Quezon City  in this file photo taken April last year. (REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez)

MANILA, Philippines — Despite record-high new COVID-19 cases, the Department of Health (DOH) on Thursday said that the situation is “very manageable,” and that the Philippines’ healthcare utilization rate is at low risk.

Health Undersecretary Leopoldo Vega compared the Delta variant case surge in 2021—wherein hospitalization and intensive care unit utilization likewise increased—and the current spike which has, so far, not caused a higher healthcare utilization rate.

“Kakaiba talaga ‘tong pagtaas ng mga bagong bilang ng kaso nitong January compared nung September of last year. Kasi nakikita natin ‘yung September of last year, ‘yung tumaas talaga ‘yung kaso, bilang ng mga 26,000, sumabay din ‘yung pagtaas ng hospitalization at saka sumabay din ‘yung pagtaas ng intensive care unit utilization,” he explained during the Laging Handa briefing.

(The increase of new cases this January is different compared to September of last year wherein we saw up to 26,000 cases, hospitalization and intensive care unit utilization also ballooned.)

“Pero itong pagtaas nitong January na ‘to, nakita namin na hindi na pareho ng trajectory ng pagtaas ng bilang ng kaso,” he added.

(The increase this January, we saw that the trajectory of the increase is not the same.)

Health Undersecretary Leopoldo Vega (PRESIDENTIAL FILE PHOTO)

Vega pointed out that the country’s healthcare utilization rate is at low risk while Metro Manila’s is at low to moderate risk.

“Nakikita natin ‘yung hospitalization ay nasa low-risk category pa rin ang buong bansa at saka ‘yung dito naman sa Metro Manila nasa borderline low risk at saka moderate risk at 60 percent,” he said.

(We see that the hospitalization nationwide is in the low-risk category while in Metro Manila, it is borderline low risk and moderate risk at 60 percent.)

Vega assured the public that the current COVID-19 situation is “very manageable.”

“Kaya very manageable at this time at saka kakaiba talaga (and it is very different) compared with the last wave na nakita natin (that we observed) with the Delta virus,” he stressed.

The country has logged 32,246 fresh COVID-19 infections on Wednesday, bringing the overall case count to 3,058,634.

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