DOH eyes establishing 30k hospital beds dedicated to COVID-19

The Department of Health (DOH) plans to double the number of hospital beds dedicated to COVID-19 patients in the country, according to its official on Tuesday.

"The target for COVID-dedicated beds in the country is 30,000 total beds. Our current supply is 13,304 beds so we have a gap of 16,696 beds," Health Undersecretary Lilibeth David said during a Senate hearing.

Nevertheless, she added that this gap will further be reduced because of grants secured from the Asian Development Bank and World Bank which will allow the establishment of around 12,000 more.

"The remaining gap for COVID-dedicated beds would be 4,361," David added.

The DOH would include a P4.3 billion budget request for 2021 to achieve the 30,000 target bed capacity, according to the official.

David assured the lawmakers that the available 13,304 beds would suffice for the rest of the year.

"If we look at the occupancy rate for these COVID-dedicated beds, it just ranges from 30% to 60% so for now, that should be able to do it," she said.

As of May 25, COVID-19 has infected a total of 14, 319 cases in the Philippines, with 3,323 recoveries and 873 deaths.

There are currently 10,123 active cases of COVID-19 in the country, according to the DOH's online tracker.—AOL, GMA News