COVID-19 beds in 3 hospitals almost fully occupied — DOH exec

The allocated COVID-19 beds of three hospitals are almost fully occupied amid an increase in coronavirus cases, an official of the Department of Health (DOH) said Thursday.

Health Undersecretary Eric Tayag said these were the Philippine Children’s Medical Center, the National Kidney Transplant Institute, and the Medical City.

“Halos sagad na po 'yung mga kaso ng COVID nila doon sa allocated beds sa mga nasabing ospital. Sa pangkalahatan, ang ibang rehiyon naman ay hindi pa umaabot sa ganong sitwasyon,” Tayag said in an interview on GTV’s Balitanghali.

(Their COVID-19 case for their allocated beds are almost full in the said hospitals. In total, the other regions are still not experiencing this kind of situation.)

Meanwhile, Tayag said it is also up to other hospitals and local government units to issue their advisories regarding the use of face masks.

This came after the University of the Philippines - Philippine General Hospital (UP-PGH) began implementing the mandatory use of face masks inside the hospital.

“Bagama't wala pang mask mandate at ang PGH nga ay naiulat ninyo na nagpapaalala sa pagsuot ng mask, ayon sa risk assessment ng iba-iba pong ospital o kaya naman po sa mga pamahalaang lokal, ay maaari po silang mag-abiso sa pagsusuot ng mask,” Tayag said.

(Even if there’s still no mask mandate and the PGH is reminding everyone to wear masks, based on our risk assessment of various hospitals or the local government units, they can advise on the wearing of face masks.)

“Sa amin naman sa Kagawaran ng Kalusugan, ang pagsusuot ng mask ay aming nirerekomenda sa mga senior citizen, mga buntis, mahina ang katawan, lalong lalo na na hindi naman nakumpleto ang bakuna po,” he added.

(For us in the Department of Health, the wearing of face masks is recommended for senior citizens, pregnant women, and the immunocompromised, especially those who have yet to complete their COVID-19 vaccination.)

According to Tayag, the DOH recorded 1,910 new COVID-19 cases from December 2 to December 11.

“Ito po ay 260 new cases everyday at kung ikukumpara 'yan nong nakaraang linggo ay hundred cases no'n everyday, so tumaas 'yan talaga,” Tayag said.

(This equals 260 new cases every day compared to the previous week, which is a hundred cases per day. So it’s increasing.)

However, Tayag said that the DOH currently does not have any plans to make the wearing of face masks mandatory amid the holiday season.

Despite this, he advised the public to refrain from visiting areas that are too crowded or to wear a face mask and get tested for COVID-19 if they would do so.

Tayag also denied that the rise in cases is related to mycoplasma pneumoniae or the “walking pneumonia.” The DOH previously said that all four cases of walking pneumonia in the country have recovered.

“Subalit maaaring ang may kinalaman dahil sa marami sa atin ang na-restrict ang movement during the lockdown, so hindi tayo nagkaroon ng sapat na immune boosting kaya ito po ang nangyayari,” he said.

(But this may be related to the lockdown because the movement of many was restricted during the lockdown, so they could not build up enough immune boosting so this is happening.)

READ: Walking pneumonia: symptoms, cure, and prevention

According to the DOH, the Philippines has recorded a total of 4,128,107 COVID-19 cases, of which 3,943 remain active. A total of 66,779 people have died from the disease. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News