5 regions running out of ICU beds – DOH

MANILA, Philippines — Intensive care unit (ICU) beds in five regions of the country continue to be at a “high” or “critical” rate despite stricter community quarantines imposed since March 29, the Department of Health (DOH) said yesterday.

DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the ICU utilization rate in the National Capital Region (NCR) is at 84 percent, while in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), it is 73 percent. This means that both regions are “high risk” areas.

Also high risk is Region 4A (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon or Calabarzon) at 83 percent.

Classified as “critical risk,” on the other hand, are Region 2 at 88 percent ICU utilization rate and Region 3 at 87 percent.

Meanwhile, Vergeire cited DOH data showing the health care utilization rate (HCU) of the five “priority regions” at “moderate to high risk.”

At moderate risk are NCR at 67 percent and Region 3 at 61 percent.

Categorized as high risk are CAR at 76 percent, Region 2 at 80 percent and Region 4A at 70 percent.

Vergeire added the occupancy rate of hospitals is high due to the continuing increase in COVID-19 cases in the country.

“Another reason that we may consider are the patients who were mild but progressed to severe so they had to be transferred to the ICU,” she said.

She also did not discount the possibility that many mild and asymptomatic patients are still admitted in hospitals, instead of being in step-down care or isolation facilities.

Vergeire added that 41 percent of admitted patients are mild and asymptomatic.

She said the impact of the enhanced community quarantine and modified ECQ on the infection rate is expected to be seen next week.