Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire listed the 11 hospitals as follows:
- Veterans Memorial Medical Center
- University of Santo Tomas Hospital
- University of Perpetual Help
- Tondo Medical Center
- Seamen’s Hospital
- Philippine Children’s Medical Center
- Metro North Medical Center and Hospital
- Las Piñas Doctors Hospital
- De Los Santos Medical Center
- Chinese General Hospital and Medical Center
- Capitol Medical Center
The Lung Center of the Philippines, East Avenue Medical Center and UERM Memorial Medical Center have also reported high usage rates among their ICU beds, at 97 percent, 89 percent and 83 percent, respectively, Vergeire said.
She said data from the National Capital Region showed that isolation beds in government hospitals were 68 percent occupied; ward beds were 79 percent occupied; ICU beds were 51 percent occupied and 29.8 percent of mechanical ventilators were being utilized.
Malacañang downplayed the news and said Metro Manila’s critical care utilization rate stood at 63 percent.
“Ito po ay moderate risk pa lamang,” Palace spokesman Harry Roque said.
Roque however said the DOH met with Metro Manila hospitals’ medical directors to reiterate the administrative order requiring 30 percent of all bed capacities to be designated for Covid-19 patients.
Many private hospitals have yet to comply, according to Vergeire.
Should Covid-19 infections continue to rise, Roque said Metro Manila might either return to stricter community quarantine or be forced to fund more hospital facilities and designate more beds specifically for Covid-19 patients.
The country has recorded 46,333 Covid-19 cases as of June 6, after reporting more than 2,000 daily infections for the past two days. The case doubling time of Covid-19 infections in the country stood at 7.95 days. John Ezekiel J. Hirro