The Philippine General Hospital (PGH) reassured the public on Wednesday, Dec. 13 that the admission of Covid-19 patients at the hospital is still not at “alarming” level.
"Hindi naman ito alarming. Sa ngayon, mayroon kaming walong pasyente na may Covid-19 at anim dito ay bata at ang dalawa naman ay matanda (This is not alarming. At present, we have eight patients with Covid-19, six of whom are children, and the other two are elderly)," PGH spokesperson Jonas Del Rosario said in an interview with TeleRadyo Serbisyo.
He said the adult cases are mild and are classified as "incidental" cases of Covid, meaning the adults were admitted for other reasons and the virus was discovered later, while two children have been diagnosed with severe Covid-19 or Covid pneumonia.
Meanwhile, Del Rosario revealed that four children with Covid-19 in the pediatric ward presented with symptoms of upper respiratory infection, including cough, colds, and fever, and subsequently tested positive for Covid.
He explained that people are only tested for Covid-19 when they are "exhibiting symptoms," in reference to PGH's admissions protocol.
Diagnosing ‘walking pneumonia’
Moreover, Del Rosario clarified that PGH does not routinely test for "walking pneumonia" or Mycoplasma pneumoniae, relying instead on doctors' clinical judgment.
"Kapag sinabi kasing walking pneumonia, ibig sabihin ay hindi naman malubha ang sakit so kung walang ibang source o cause ng pneumonia, ito ay tini-treat as typical pneumonia at binibigyan lang ng specific antibiotic (When they say walking pneumonia, it means that the illness is not severe. So, if there is no other source or cause of pneumonia, it is treated as typical pneumonia and given a specific antibiotic)," he explained.
While PGH sees a high number of consultations for cases of influenza-like illness (ILI), it often advises patients with less severe symptoms to recover at home.
Furthermore, it has implemented “mandatory masking” protocols to safeguard patients, requiring all individuals within its premises, including patients, relatives, staff, and trainees, to wear surgical masks at all times.
"Ang mga ito po ay really to protect our patient (These are really to protect our patient)," Del Rosario said.
READ: https://mb.com.ph/2023/12/11/pgh-releases-covid-19-safety-guidelines-as-number-of-cases-rises