There is no need yet to raise the alert level status in Metro Manila as the healthcare utilization in the area remains manageable, an official of the Department of Health (DOH) said.
DOH Undersecretary Leopoldo Vega said that the existing Alert Level 3 in Metro Manila is enough so far despite the rising number of COVID-19 cases daily.
“Alam mo itong Alert Level 3, nakakatulong talaga, kasi kung mapapansin ninyo kahit na sa traffic, sa mga establishments o sa mga outdoors, nakikita mo talagang mas ano na ngayon, hindi na lumalabas ang tao...medyo nag-lessen ang mobility (The Alert Level 3 has been really helpful because if you notice, even in traffic, in establishments or outdoors, you can really see that few people are going out. The mobility was lessened),” he said on Thursday, Jan. 13.
“Hindi pa, kaya pa ho (There's no need yet . It is still) very manageable, in spite of the rise of the number of cases,” he added.
Vega said that the healthcare utilization rate in the National Capital Region (NCR) is at the “moderate-risk” category.
“Dito naman sa Metro Manila nasa border line ng low risk at saka moderate risk at 60 percent. Kaya very manageable at this time (Here in Metro Manila, the is at the border line of low risk and moderate risk at 60 percent. So, it remains very manageable at this time),” he said.
“Kapag i-escalate mo kasi sa Alert Level 4, ang ibig sabihin niyan, talagang 71 percent na iyong ating healthcare utilization rate (When you escalate to Alert Level 4, that means, the healthcare utilization rate is at 71 percent),” he added.
The Health official, however, acknowledged that the utilization rate in some hospitals in Metro Manila is already high. This can be resolved through proper referral of patients, he said.
“Alam mo dito sa Metro Manila, kasi although the average healthcare utilization is 60 percent. May mga areas talaga like San Juan, Taguig, Quezon City at saka Marikina ito iyong mga areas na medyo mataas na sa high risk position, mga 71 percent na sila (In Metro Manila, although the average healthcare utilization is at 60 percent, there are areas like San Juan, Taguig, Quezon City, and Marikina---they are relatively under the high risk position as their healthcare utilization is at 71 percent),” he said.
“So, kailangan lang talaga ang coordination for transfer nitong mga pasyente na nangangailangan talaga ng admissions sa mga hospitals na puwede pa, may capacity pa to accept (What we need is coordination on the transfer of patients who need to be admitted — to hospitals that still have the capacity),” he added.
Vega also said that some temporary treatment and monitoring facilities (TTMFs) were reopened again to accomodate more patients.
“Nag-increase po tayo ng ating number of contracted hotels again para sa isolation at na-reactivate na talaga ng local government units iyong mga TTMFs to be functional again (We have increased our number of contracted hotels again for isolation and the local government units have actually reactivated the TTMFs to be functional again),” he said.
“Kasi ang utilization ng TTMFs ay nasa almost 78 percent na po. So, gradually itinataas din namin ang number of isolation and facilities para ho sa mga health care workers at saka sa general public (The utilization rate of TTMFs is almost at 78 percent already. So, we are gradually increasing the number of isolation facilities for healthcare workers and the general public),” he added.