Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 12) –– The Department of Health has ordered all medical centers and hospitals in Luzon, including Metro Manila, to allot rooms for people suspected of having coronavirus disease or COVID-19.
Health Undersecretary Gerardo Bayugo — in a memorandum signed on March 9 and released Wednesday — said the hospitals shall convert their private rooms and wards into isolation rooms for suspected and confirmed COVID-19 cases.
The department said all public and private hospitals are not allowed to refuse patients who need medical assistance. Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said hospitals need to assess and refer the patient.
The reminder came after a supposed memo from The Medical City in Pasig City said the hospital will refuse admission of COVID-19 patients under investigation due to full capacity. The private hospital later clarified that it will accept patients “as long as capacity allows it.”
The Department of Health’s guidelines state that all hospitals with an internal care unit and specialist doctors cannot refuse those suspected of or diagnosed with COVID-19. Only patients that are in critical condition shall be referred to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, San Lazaro Hospital, or Lung Center of the Philippines.
There are 49 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the Philippines, mostly recorded in Metro Manila.
