The Pasig City Health Office (CHO) said on Thursday, April 21, that it is prepared for a potential mid-May surge in Covid-19 cases.
“Despite changes in the alert level system, the systems put in place for the management of Covid cases, whether there's a surge or the cases are below 20, are still intact,” the CHO said.
The Pasig CHO said it has built a functioning system that will continue to be implemented in all stages of the pandemic.
"We have already put in place a Covid-19 management response that has withstood the past surges through the implementation of the Prevent, Detect, Isolate, Treat, Reintegrate (PDITR) ," said the CHO.
The city's PDITR strategy includes the implementation of digital contact tracing, expansion of bed capacity of the referral center, the creation of the molecular lab, the establishment of the Rizal High School (RHS) quarantine facility, and the continued roll-out of the vaccination program.
On Monday, April 18, the World Health Organization (WHO) said that around 300,000 Covid-19 cases are projected to spring in the Philippines by the middle of May if the health and safety protocols are abandoned or neglected.
The likelihood of a coming surge is being attributed to superspreader events such as the campaign rallies that have drawn huge crowds during the national and local election campaign period.
These may be exacerbated by mass gatherings on election day.
According to a report from the Department of Health (DOH), there was a "slight increase" in the overall hospital admissions for Covid-19 in Pasig City.
As of Wednesday, April 20, the PCCRC had an 88 percent occupancy rate in the emergency room, according to data from the CHO.
The ward in the PCCRC had an 85 percent admission rate, and a 50 percent rate in the intensive care unit (ICU).
Data provided by the Pasig CHO to Manila Bulletin indicated that a total of 1,417 individuals have been admitted to the Pasig City Covid-19 Referral Center (PCCRC) for the last six months, from Nov. 21, 2021 to April 22, 2022.
Around 771 admitted patients were adults, and 646 fell under the pediatric demographic.
Patients with confirmed Covid-19 cases were 490, while those who showed negative results were 862.
Among the admissions, four individuals were logged as non-Covid patients.
In terms of the severity of Covid-19 symptoms, 22 were asymptomatic, 139 experienced mild symptoms, and 890 had moderate symptoms.
Patients with severe symptoms were 314, and 52 were under a critical status.
According to the CHO, there are no Covid-19 patients in the Pasig City General Hospital.
The CHO admitted that some Pasig City residents have been lax in following the minimum health and safety protocols, similar to other areas under Alert Level 1 status.
However, it assured that it is well-equipped to manage and contain any possible Covid-19-related scenario.
Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto had previously said that most of the city's healthcare capacities were adjusted to cater to the specific needs to combat the Covid-19 pandemic.
As of Wednesday, April 20, the city logged 20 active cases, 79,245 recoveries, and 1,598 deaths.