The hospital utilization rates in Metro Manila will likely remain high next month as the number of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is seen to rise further, the OCTA Research said.
OCTA fellow Prof. Guido David said Monday, Aug. 30, that the number of occupied beds in the region is now similar to the level of occupancy last March and April when there was a surge in cases.
“Yung hospital utilization mananatili ‘yang mataas (Hospital utilization rate will remain high) for the foreseeable future, baka throughout September ‘yan (maybe throughout September),” David said in a public briefing.
“Kahit bumaba na yung bilang ng kaso natin, higit pa rin tayo dun sa tinatawag na (Even though the number of our cases has decreased, we are still above the so-called) surge capacity which is around 2500 to 3000 cases.”
“Ibig sabihin hindi agad-agad luluwag yung (This means that the) number of occupied beds and the number of occupied ICUs sa Metro Manila (in Metro Manila will not ease right away),” he added.
According to David, the ICU utilization rate in the National Capital Region (NCR) was at around 73 percent, while hospital bed occupancy was at an estimated 67 percent.
“Nakita natin sa Metro Manila na yung lebel ng hospital bed occupancy ay pareho na nung last March and April (We saw in Metro Manila that the level of hospital bed occupancy is now the same as last March and April),” David said.
“This means we have the same number of occupied beds in hospitals kumpara nung April. Yung ICUs naman natin, nalagpasan na yung ICU occupancy nung April (compared in April. Our ICUs, on the other hand, exceeded the ICU occupancy in April),” he added.
OCTA fellow Prof. Ranjit Rye credited the decreases in the region’s reproduction number to the imposition of a two-week enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) recently.
The group said Metro Manila’s reproduction number, which refers to the average number of secondary infections by each infected individual, dipped to 1.47 from 1.90 in the previous weeks.
“Though the effect of ECQ and MECQ ay napababa yung reproduction number, hindi pa niyan agad napapababa yung hospital utilization hanggang magsimulang bumaba yung bilang ng kaso below mga 2,500 cases per day sa Metro Manila (has reduced the reproduction number, hospital utilization will not be go down right away until the number of cases starts to drop below 2,500 cases per day in Metro Manila),” David said.