[ad_1]
MANILA— The need for intensive care among COVID-19 patients in Metro Manila hospitals has eased, among the “good signs” health officials are seeing amid the country’s ongoing battle against the coronavirus pandemic .
Undersecretary of Health Maria Rosario Vergeire said on Saturday that the critical care utilization rate at the COVID-19 epicenter Metro Manila has “dropped to around 60 percent” from a high of up to 81 percent, a level considered the “danger zone” in August.
The intensive care utilization rate refers to the number of beds in hospital intensive care units, COVID-19 wards, and ventilation facilities, reflecting the number of coronavirus patients in need of intensive care.
“Use of intensive care, use of ICU, isolation beds, ventilators, umabot po tayo in a danger zone in August … almost 80 to 81 percent. But ngayon po, the use of critical care has already decreased, ”Vergeire said in a briefing on state television.
(Intensive care utilization, ICU use, isolation beds, ventilators, we hit the danger zone in August, almost 80 to 81 percent. But now, intensive care utilization has already decreased).
She said the utilization of ICU beds in the capital region was 63 percent, while the use of beds in COVID-19 and isolation rooms was around 53 percent.
Vergeire said this indicates decongestion in facilities and improvements in the capacity of the country’s health system to receive patients in need of treatment.
It was in August that Metro Manila and nearby provinces returned to the stricter modified enhanced community quarantine for two weeks, as exhausted health workers sought a time out and warned that the health system was on the brink of collapse.
This followed an increase in cases where quarantine restrictions were eased to revive the paralyzed economy.
When asked if the capital region was ready to switch to the more relaxed modified general community quarantine for October, Vergeire said the Interagency Task Force on Pandemic Response considers several factors before deciding to change quarantine levels.
READ: https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/09/24/20/to-shift-to-mgcq-metro-manila-needs-to-expand-covid-19-hospital-bed-capacity- official
While health authorities are seeing a longer time for COVID-19 cases and deaths to double, there remain specific areas in Metro Manila where clusters of cases have been observed, and this should be considered, he said.
“This has to be balanced when making a decision and this will be done by the IATF,” he said.
(This needs to be balanced when the decision is made and the IATF will).
Metro Manila will remain under general community quarantine until the end of September, and the government is expected to announce its quarantine status for the following weeks before the disruption.
Vergeire reminded the public to continue to observe health protocols and not let down your guard amid encouraging reports about COVID-19 in the country.
“Protect yourself. Let’s not be complacent because we are improving the capacity of the health system. We will continue to follow health protocols to prevent our families from becoming infected and to protect them, ”he said.
(Protect yourself. Let’s not be complacent because we are hearing that the capacity of our health system is improving. Let’s follow the health protocols to prevent infections and protect our families).
As of Friday, COVID-19 cases in the country reached nearly 300,000, the highest incidence in Southeast Asia. The Philippines has imposed one of the longest blockades in the world and the government has a vaccine to end the crisis.
COVID-19 Philippines Update, Critical Care Utilization Rate, Critical Care Utilization Metro Manila, Maria Rosario Vergeire,
[ad_2]