Private hospitals observe slight increase in COVID-19 cases —PHAPI

Private hospitals felt a slight increase in COVID-19 cases in their facilities, Private Hospitals Associations of the Philippines Inc. (PHAPI) president Dr. Jose de Grano said on Wednesday.

Interviewed on GMA News' Unang Balita, De Grano said that it was evident that most people now are going outdoors despite the threat of the pandemic.

“May kaunti pong pagtaas [sa kaso ng COVID-19] so sana po ipagpatuloy ng ating kababayan ang minimum health protocols (There was a slight increase [in COVID-19 cases] ,.so I hope our countrymen will continue observing minimum health protocols),” he said.

In a separate interview, Dr. Maricar Limpin, president of the Philippine College of Physicians (PCP), said the increase is felt mostly in emergency rooms.

“Naramdaman na rin namin sa mga ospital, lalong-lalo na sa emergency room, na medyo talagang dumadami ‘yung COVID-19 cases natin,” Limpin said in a radio interview.

“So ‘yung lahat ng tao nagpapatingin sa emergency room, medyo madami-dami na, mas mataas na talaga ‘yung porsyento na nagpa-positive sila sa RT-PCR,” she added.

(Hospitals, especially  the emergency room, are feeling the increase in cases. There is really an increase in the percentage of those testing positive for COVID-19 in RT-PCR tests.)

Because of this, Limpin said the need to prepare for another surge is becoming a reality.

On Tuesday, the OCTA Research group said the daily positivity rate in the National Capital Region (NCR) has increased to over 5%. The positivity rate refers to the percentage of people who were found positive for COVID-19 among the total number of individuals tested.

OCTA Research fellow Dr. Guido David warned that the spike could be more than just "a holiday uptick”.

“There is now concern that this is not just a holiday uptick. Please be advised that the situation is changing in the NCR and we must now be very mindful of minimum public health standards,” he said.

The Department of Health on Tuesday reported 421 new COVID-19 infections, bringing the total count of active cases to 9,750. 

Limpin urged the public to follow minimum health standards, noting that people seem to have become complacent.

“Kasi parang naging kampante tayo. Hindi na natin masyadong naisip na ang virus naririto pa, lalung-lalo na itong latter part of the year na nakita natin na may Omicron variant na,” she said.

(It seems like we’ve become complacent. We’re forgetting that the virus is still here, especially in the latter part of the year that we see there is already the Omicron variant.)

Limpin also said the government should retain the mandatory 14-day quarantine period.  —KG/KBK, GMA News