DOH reminds hospitals not to admit asymptomatic, mild COVID-19 cases

The Department of Health (DOH) on Tuesday reminded hospitals that asymptomatic and mild COVID-19 patients should not be admitted to avoid congestion and make room for severe and critical cases.

In an interview on Unang Balita, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said asymptomatic and mild cases should instead be accommodated in Level 1 health care facilities or temporary treatment and monitoring facilities.

“Ang ginagawa nating paghahanda talaga is to expand more beds para po tayo ay magkaroon ng pag-accommodate sa mga pasyenteng nangangailangan. We need to be able to navigate patients. ‘Yun po ang kritikal sa atin ngayon,” she said.

(What we’re really doing is to expand more beds for us to accommodate patients in need. We need to be able to navigate patients. That is what’s critical for us right now.)

“Nakikita pa rin natin ‘yung ating mga ospital na nag-a-admit pa rin ng asymptomatic at saka mild patient (We still see hospitals admitting asymptomatic and mild patients),” she added.

During the spike in cases in March this year, the DOH noted that nearly 50% of hospital admissions at the time were asymptomatic or mild cases. 

Meanwhile, Vergeire said the DOH has coordinated with the National Kidney and Transplant Institute (NKTI), which earlier hit full capacity due to an increase in COVID-19 and leptospirosis cases. 

“Atin pong naiayos na ‘yung network natin. So ‘yun pong mga pasyente na hindi na po ma-aaccommodate ng NKTI ay ngayon po ay nire-refer na sa mga ospital natin dito sa Metro Manila,” she said.

(We have arranged our network. Patients who cannot be accommodated by the NKTI will be referred to other hospitals in Metro Manila.)

Vergeire added that the DOH has ordered regional offices to “establish our network of hospitals” after suspected COVID-19 patients were seen lying in cars, tents, and corridors at the Cagayan Valley hospital. 

The Philippines is battling a fresh uptick in infections following the detection of local cases of the highly contagious Delta coronavirus variant. —KG, GMA News