The intensive care unit dedicated for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients at the Lung Center of the Philippines has already reached its full capacity as of Wednesday.

Dr. Norberto Francisco, the facility's spokesman, said the isolation beds and the isolation wings of the Lung Center, which serves as the referral center of the Department of Health (DoH) for severe and critical COVID-19 cases, are already fully occupied.

"The past two to three days, ang bilis napuno," Francisco said in an interview over DZMM.

Francisco said Lung Center has a 250-bed capacity. But they had to reduce it to only 169 beds to properly isolate patients.

"Kung dati mayroon kaming malalaking kwarto na apat, walong kama na pwede mong ilagay, ngayon isa nalang pwede ilagay mo doon because they have to be isolated (If before we had four big rooms where you can put eight beds, now you can only put one bed because the patients have to be isolated)," he explained.

Francisco attributed the spike of  COVID-19 cases to the country’s “expanded testing capacity” and the “faster turn-around time” of laboratories processing test samples.

"Kaya mas nakakadiagnose tayo ngayon ng mga confirmed cases ,” he said.

Francisco said the Lung Center's personal protective equipment (PPEs) and other equipment, such as ventilators, are enough for its patients.

But he expressed alarm that due to the rising number of cases being brought in, the facility’s medical workers have already resorted to attending to more patients than the ideal ration.

"Ideally, 1:2 the most. Pero siguro, napipilitan pa silang mag 1:3 or 1:4," he said, adding that medical workers have also extended their shifts to 10 hours a day from the supposed eight hours.

"But we have no choice, we have to go on," he added. "We will welcome more manpower lalo na pag ganitong dumadami yung kaso .”