The number of people calling the government's One Hospital Command Center to seek medical assistance is rising once again amid the threat of the Delta variant of coronavirus, an official of the Department of Health (DOH) said.

The One Hospital Command Center currently receives up to 180 calls per day, said

DOH Undersecretary and the country’s COVID-19 treatment czar Leopoldo Vega in an interview with DZBB radio on Sunday, August 1.

“Nung first week of July meron kaming mga 90 to 110 calls. Pero itong last two weeks, umaabot na kami sa 175 (to) 180 calls per day (During the first week of July, we had about 90 to 110 calls. But in the last two weeks, we have reached 175 (to) 180 calls per day),” said Vega.

“Steadily increasing iyan. Ibig sabihin nito, meron na talaga tayong napapansin na active calls...Dumadami ang nagkakasakit o nahahawahan (That’s steadily increasing. This means that we are really noticing active calls ... More people are getting sick or infected),” he added.

Vega assured that the One Hospital Command Center has enough manpower to receive calls.

“Nag increase kami ng capacity. Yung manpower namin umaabot na ng 110--yung call receivers namin. Meron din medical coordinators (We have increased our capacity. With regards to manpower, we have 110 call receivers. There are also medical coordinators),” said Vega.

“Nagtatanggap na kami ng telemedicine.....kung kailangan ng virtual consultation with virtual prescription puwede ho yang mangyari (We are also offering telemedicine services if a virtual consultation with virtual prescription is needed, we can provide that),” he added.

The One Hospital Command Center 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.

‘Tip of the iceberg’

Vega said that necessary steps should be undertaken to curb the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the country.

The DOH is currently monitoring the upward trend of cases in Metro Manila, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Western Visayas, Central Visayas, and Northern Mindanao.

"Itong pag-sequence nitong Delta virus, hindi naman lahat ng positive ng RT-PCR kundi kaunti lang (Not all positive with the RT-PCR test are being subjected to Delta virus (genemome) sequencing),” said Vega.

“Sa paningin namin baka nasa tip of the iceberg ang nakikita natin. Kailangan talaga natin gumawa ng hakbang. Kung hindi natin ma-control ang transmission, manghahawa talaga iyan (We think that the (Delta) cases being recorded were just a tip of the iceberg. We really need to take action. If we don't control the transmission, many will be infected)," he added.