Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 5) — The Department of Health (DOH) has advised hospitals to prepare wards for COVID-19 patients amid the recent spike in the number of infections in recent weeks.
DOH officer-in-charge Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire, however, assured on Thursday there is no reason for the public to panic as most of the COVID-19 cases recorded in the past two weeks were either asymptomatic or presented mild symptoms.
\”We have advised our hospitals to be prepared so that when there are additional admissions, they will be prepared at meron tayong additional COVID-19 beds,\” she said. \”So yung COVID-19 wards, nandoon naman talaga at hindi siya isinara.\”
[Translation: This is so we will have additional COVID-19 beds in case of more admissions. The wards are still there and they were never closed.]
During the hearing of the House Committee on Appropriations, Vergeire said only 9% of COVID-19 patients are considered critical.
The utilization of healthcare facilities nationwide also remains low at 20%.
\”All of the regions are registering less than 20% meaning wala po masyadong naoospital,\” she told the hearing. \”Kung mayroon man tayong binabantayan na mga ospital, ito po yung mga ospital na tumataas ang percentage ng utilization because somehow most of them, kulang ang kama.\”
[Translation: All of the regions are registering less than 20% meaning not many people are hospitalized. If there are hospitals that we monitor, these are the hospitals that increase the percentage of utilization because somehow most of them lack beds.]
Vergeire attributed the uptick in COVID-19 cases to the emergence of new virus variants, increased mobility of people, and exposure to the virus of vulnerable individuals.
A member of the independent OCTA Research on Thursday warned that the National Capital Region’s positivity rate by next week could reach the same level as when the country was dealing with the Delta wave or as high as 25%.
