As some patients choose to stay at home due to lack of hospital rooms, the Department of Health (DOH) on Monday, April 5 recommended the utilization of home care service instead of stocking up oxygen cylinders without proper medical supervision or prescription.

Dr. Edsel Salvana, a member of the DOH Technical Advisory Group, said families who opted to have oxygen facilities at home should ensure that it is properly managed by a doctor. 

"They (families) should also contact the hospitals with home care. Oxygen is good kung kinakailangan pero a lot of these kailangan may monitoring din kasi kung wala namang nagmomonitor at nagmamanage na doctor mahirap din po malaman kung paano ‘yung tamang paggamit ng oxygen, kailan na ba talaga kailangan pumunta sa ospital. (Oxygen is good if needed but a lot of these also need monitoring because if there is no doctor to monitor and manage it, it is also difficult to know how to use oxygen properly, or when one really needs to go to the hospital)," Salvana said during the Laging Handa public briefing.

"Mas importante po ngayon, ang mga ospital gumagawa ng paraan para sa (what is more important now, hospitals are making way for) home care so please contact the hospital that is capable of doing this if you would rather be treated at home," he added. 

Salvana pointed out that increasing healthcare capacity is still "very important" to address the surge of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases in the country. 

"Ang COVID, basta maalagaan nang maayos ang pasyente, kahit severe, chances are 5 percent lang ang mamamatay. (As long as the patient is taken care of properly, even severe, chances are, only 5 percent will die)," he said.

"Pero kung wala na tayong kama, kung hindi natin mabigyan ng oxygen ‘yung may kinakailangan ng oxygen, tataas po talaga iyong percentage ng mamamatay. (But if we don't have enough beds, if we can't give oxygen to those who need oxygen, the percentage of deaths will definitely increase," he added.