DOH exec: Health system can cope if only severe, critical COVID-19 cases admitted to hospitals

Projections showed that the Philippines’ healthcare system will be able to cope with an increase in COVID-19 infections if only severe and critical cases will be admitted to hospitals, the Department of Health (DOH) said Wednesday.

At an online briefing, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said government experts came up with a projection on the impact of rising cases and the lockdown classification on the healthcare system.

“The consideration in this projection, the assumption, would be that severe and critical [cases] would occupy hospitals,” she said in a briefing.

“No’ng pinakita ‘yung sa NCR, kung tayo ay magtutuloy dito sa two weeks na lockdown tapos magtutuloy tayo into MECQ, naipakita nila dito na ‘yung ating current capacity ay maghuhusto kung severe and critical lang ang ipapasok natin dito sa ating mga ospital,” she added.

(When they showed the projection for NCR, if we continue this two-week lockdown and then go into modified enhanced community quarantine, our current capacity will be enough if only severe and critical cases would be admitted to hospitals.)

The DOH has long been urging hospitals to admit only severe and critical cases. 

“Napakaimportante po ngayon na talagang atin pong maipatupad ito pong ating navigation of patients so that we will be able to refer them to appropriate facilities, hindi mapuno kaagad ang ating ospital with mild and asymptomatic patients,” Vergeire said.

(It’s really important for us to implement this navigation of patients so that we will be able to refer them to appropriate facilities and the hospitals won’t be filled with mild and asymptomatic patients.)

Vergeire urged mild and asymptomatic COVID-19 patients to proceed to temporary treatment and monitoring facilities instead, adding that some hotels have been converted into COVID-19 facilities for a more comfortable isolation period.

The Philippines has logged over 1.68 million COVID-19 cases with 1.57 million recoveries and 29,220 deaths as of Tuesday afternoon. — Julia Mari Ornedo/RSJ, GMA News