Although the number of COVID-19 cases has slightly decreased, there are still objections to the relaxation of community quarantine in Metro Manila and neighboring provinces, especially since hospitals are said to remain full.
At the Philippine General Hospital (PGH), which is one of the COVID-19 referral facilities, 234 of their 250 beds are occupied by patients.
The intensive care unit (ICU), emergency room, even the rooms converted to ICU setup are also full.
“Very fluid kasi ang aming admission. We were trending down already, nasa 216 out of 250 beds pero itong 3 araw na nakaraan, puro paakyat na naman,” said PGH Spokesperson Dr. Jonas del Rosario.
The OCTA Research Group had earlier said that the trend of COVID-19 cases was down but it could still change depending on public action.
So far, they do not recommend easing community quarantine.
For infectious disease expert Dr. Rontgene Solante, it is better to relax slowly.
Even before doing so, it is necessary to focus on the capacity of health care facilities.
According to Solante, if there is a visible decrease in the number of cases today, it is possible that the drop will be even greater in the coming weeks.
“Hopefully after 2 weeks makikita na natin na merong drastic na decrease in the number of cases,” he said.
Occidental Mindoro, on the other hand, appealed to the Department of Health and the Department of Public Works and Highways to provide a modular isolation facility as the number of cases in the province increases.
Some hospitals still full even COVID-19 infections decreased
Facilities in San Jose, Sablayan, and Mamburao are said to be more needed.
According to Dr. Ma. Teresa Vergara-Tan, provincial health officer, said the San Jose District Hospital is already full so COVID-19 will make another ward to meet the needs of other patients.
Despite the COVID-19 trials, President Rodrigo Duterte praised the government’s measures against the pandemic.
He also called Health Secretary Francisco Duque III a hero.
Meanwhile, the Philippine Genome Center continues to record additional variants of concern (VOC).
In the latest batch, an additional 289 samples of the B117 variant first seen in the United Kingdom were detected while 380 samples of the B1351 variant first seen in South Africa were detected.
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