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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider DOH advises hospitals to boost Covid-19 bed capacity

DOH advises hospitals to boost Covid-19 bed capacity

Published May 4, 2023 05:35 am
The Department of Health (DOH) asked hospitals to prepare more beds for the possible increase in the number of Covid-19 patients as the country is experiencing a rise in new infections again. Hospitals were already advised by the Department of Health (DOH) to expand their bed capacity, said DOH Officer-in-Charge and Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire during a press briefing on Tuesday, May 2. “Simula't-sapul nung nakita namin na medyo may pataas tayo na trend (Since we started observing an increase in the case trend), we've mobilized our hospitals already,” she said. “Nag announced na tayo—yung accordion principle, kailangan na nilang buksan yung mga wards na dating nilalagay nila sa Covid na sinara nila at ibinigay sa iba, kailangan meron na tayong mga reserves (We have already announced [to implement] the accordion principle, in which they should reopen the wards, previously dedicated for Covid-19 cases, that have been closed or converted. We need to have reserves),” she added. Vergeire noted that the country’s healthcare utilization remains under the low-risk classification. “Pinag-adjust natin but hindi naman po nagagamit ng husto. Low-risk pa rin tayo, mababa pa rin ang admissions (We asked them to adjust [the number of beds] but not all have been used so far. We are still at low-risk and admissions are still low),” she said. The country’s hospital bed occupancy rate stood at 18 percent with 4,384 occupied and 19,938 vacant beds as of May 2, based on the DOH’s Covid-19 tracker. The average daily number of cases for the period of April 24 to 30 was at 637, which was 42 percent higher compared to the 450 cases per day from April 17 to 23. In its latest Covid-19 updates, the DOH said that all areas in the country “are on an uptrend, with NCR (National Capital Region) exhibiting steepest increase.” Meanwhile, “increase of cases in Visayas and Mindanao are starting to slow down.” “Our cases do not translate to hospital admissions and deaths and we can attribute that to our adherence to our layers of protection. Remember to wear masks, isolate when sick, and ensure good airflow to remain protected against the virus,” the DOH said. “Vaccines are proven to be effective against Covid-19. Let us further strengthen our wall of immunity by getting vaccinated and boosted,” it added.

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covid-19 Department of Health (DOH)
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