The country's four regions are now under the "high-risk" level in terms of the utilization of their intensive care unit (ICU) beds dedicated for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients.
These regions are Central Visayas with 70 percent occupancy rate, Ilocos with 71 percent, Cagayan Valley with 72 percent, and Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon) with 71 percent, based on the data of the Department of Health (DOH) released on Thursday, August 5.
Meanwhile, five regions are now classified as "moderate-risk" in terms of the usage of their ICU beds.
These include Northern Mindanao with 61 percent ICU occupancy rate, Western Visayas with 66 percent, Central Luzon with 67 percent, Soccsksargen (South Cotabato, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani, General Santos) with 66 percent, and Davao region with 65 percent.
Nationwide, the ICU occupancy rate is under moderate risk classification at 62 percent.
However, for the overall healthcare utilization rate in the country, which includes other hospital beds, it remains under low-risk classification with 52 percent occupancy rate.
Amid the spike in COVID-19 cases, the One Hospital Command Center (OHCC) is also receiving more calls from individuals seeking medical assistance, said OHCC Operations Manager Dr. Bernadette Velasco.
“We've been recording and monitoring on the number of calls. Since last week of July, nakikita na natin na pataas ng pataas ang number of calls natin (Since last week of July, we have been seeing an increase in the number of calls),” she said in an online forum.
In June, the number of calls that the OHCC was receiving only went up to 300 calls per day.
“For the last three days, ang ating average ay nasa 600 (For the last three days, our average is at 600),” said Velasco.
Velasco said that the majority of the calls were from Metro Manila, Calabarzon, and Central Luzon.
“But we also received quite a number (of calls) coming from overseas Filipinos requesting, asking about the process of medical repatriation. So, we also process that,” she said.
The OHCC is a healthcare referral network linked with service providers such as hospitals, quarantine facilities, and medical transportation.
It can be reached through its hotlines: 02-886-505-00, 0915-777-7777 and 0919-977-3333.