DOH: Metro Manila ICU beds 84% occupied

The utilization rate of intensive care unit (ICU) beds in Metro Manila remains in the high-risk category at 84% amid a fresh surge in infections, the Department of Health (DOH) said Wednesday.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire also said an ICU occupancy rate of 73% was recorded in the Cordillera Region, 88% in Cagayan Valley, 87% in Central Luzon, and 83% in Calabarzon as of April 18.

Under DOH guidelines, an area is classified as moderate risk if its ICU utilization rate falls between 60% and 69%, high risk at 70% to 84%, and critical risk at 85% and above.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III earlier said six cities that he did not identify had already reached 100% ICU utilization. 

Meanwhile, Metro Manila’s healthcare utilization rate (HCUR), which refers to the occupancy of ward, isolation, and ICU beds, stood in the moderate-risk category at 67%.

Also classified as moderate risk was Central Luzon with 61% HCUR, while the Cordillera region, Cagayan Valley, and Calabarzon were all in the high-risk zone with an HCUR of 70% or higher.

“We need to be very clear, kailangan po ng caution sa pag-interpret nitong HCUR kasi katulad po ng sabi namin, nadi-dilute po ito dahil lahat po ng levels ng ospital ay kasama po dito,” Vergeire said in an online briefing.

(We need to be very clear. We must exercise caution in interpreting the HCUR. This figure is diluted since it includes all levels of hospitals.)

The health official said the HCUR is affected by a number of factors, including the continued increase of COVID-19 cases and the progression of patients’ symptoms.

“Maraming kailangan pag-isipan na factors na makakaapekto sa HCUR natin so that we can appropriately interpret it at maintindihan natin,” she said.

(There are a lot of factors affecting the HCUR that must be considered so that we can appropriately interpret and understand it.)

Vergeire also said several hospitals have teamed up with mega facilities that will serve as step-down care institutions for COVID-19 patients.

The Philippines has logged 952,106 COVID-19 cases with 809,959 recoveries and 16,141 deaths as of Tuesday afternoon. 

Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Rizal, and Laguna will be under a more stringent lockdown classification until the end of the month in a bid to contain COVID-19 transmission. — RSJ, GMA News