Metro Manila hospital occupancy rate for COVID-19 lower after MECQ

MANILA, Philippines — Fewer coronavirus disease patients are now admitted in hospitals following the imposition of modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ), the Department of Health (DOH) reported yesterday.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the two-week “timeout” for healthcare workers (HCWs) in Metro Manila resulted in a slight drop in the hospital occupancy rate in Metro Manila.

“We saw gradual decongestion in our hospitals, from an occupancy rate of 81 percent before the MECQ down to 76 percent,” Vergeire said in a virtual press briefing.

But the DOH, she said, is still evaluating the actual impact of the two-week MECQ in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.

Vergeire, however, clarified that the MECQ was not directly intended to reduce the number of COVID-19 cases.

“There is a misconception and people expect the cases to drastically drop because of stricter community quarantine. That is not the very objective, we just did it to give our HCWs a breather,” Vergeire explained.

She said the government also took the two-week period as an opportunity to re-calibrate the strategies against the pandemic.

With all the strategies being implemented by the government, Vergeire expressed confidence that transmission of the virus will be eventually controlled.

Vergeire stressed that community quarantine is the only intervention against COVID-19.

“What we need really is integrated and comprehensive efforts. Even our experts are saying we cannot stay in lockdown forever,” Vergeire said as she explained why the government rejected calls to impose stricter community quarantine in Bacolod.

The government attributed the surge in coronavirus cases in Bacolod and other areas in Negros Occidental to the entry of locally stranded individuals (LSIs).

Vergeire said the government is already undertaking measures to curb the rising cases of COVID-19 in the province and to provide appropriate medical attention for infected individuals.

HCW infection needs validation

At the same meeting, DOH said it is validating reports that 22 more HCWs have died after being infected with COVID-19.

“We have 22 reported additional deaths among healthcare workers, but these are raw data that need validation,” Vergeire said.

If the 22 will be confirmed, Vergeire said, it will bring the total number of COVID-related fatalities among HCWs to 53.

According to Vergeire, the DOH previously released P1 million benefits for the 31 HCWs who have died due to COVID-19.

Vergeire said doctors comprised 65 percent of deaths among HCWs.

“Although nurses were the most infected, COVID deaths was higher among doctors. Those doctors who died have co-morbidities and they belong to vulnerable age of  60 to 69 years,” she noted.

Vergeire said reports of deaths undergo evaluation to confirm whether COVID-19 was the real cause of death.

She further reported that DOH has also released P100,000 each to 36 HCWs who were classified as severe and critical cases of COVID-19, while 53 other similar cases are undergoing evaluation.

Vergeire said the DOH has hired a total of 7,847 additional HCWs who were deployed to over 300 health facilities nationwide.

She said the DOH still needs to expedite the process of filling over 10,000 slots approved for hiring of HCWs as part of the government fight against COVID-19.

More deaths

Meanwhile, DOH also reported yesterday that confirmed COVID-19 cases nationwide jumped to 209,544, with the addition of almost 4,000 newly reported cases.

DOH said 3,999 cases were recorded from 101 laboratories. Half of the number, or 2,097, came from the National Capital Region (NCR) while the rest were recorded in Laguna, Cavite, Batangas and Cebu.

Based on DOH data, 83 percent, or 3,275 of the newly reported cases occurred within the past 14 days.

The number who recovered from the infection reached 134,474 with the inclusion of 510 recoveries.

DOH also reported 91 deaths, bringing to 3,325 the total number of COVID-related fatalities nationwide. Sixty percent of the newly recorded deaths occurred in August, 36 percent in July while the remaining cases happened from May to June.

NCR accounted for 60 percent of the newly reported deaths, followed by Calabarzon with 11 percent, and the Bicol region with five percent.