DOH official says Philippines not losing battle vs COVID-19
The Philippine health system is not collapsing amid the surge in coronavirus disease cases, officials said on Thursday.
Health Undersecretary Leopoldo Vega made the statement after the Philippine Hospital Association president Jaime Almora was quoted as saying that the country has lost its battle against COVID-19 pandemic since the hospitals were overwhelmed with patients.
"We haven't lost (the fight). The health system is not collapsing. It's just that we are trying to manage the challenge of the surge," he said in the "Laging Handa" public briefing.
He said some hospitals have been reallocating more beds for COVID-19 patients.
Vega said the DOH is trying to deploy doctors coming from the provines to Metro Manila, epicenter of the pandemic.
He said the government may also transfer medical uniformed personnel from the provinces to Metro Manila.
National Task Force medical adviser Teodoro Herbosa, in the same public briefing, also debunked the claim of the PHA official about the status of the hospitals in the country, particularly in Metro Manila.
"It's just his claim because I haven't heard of any hospital that has shutdown... So far I haven't yet heard of any hospital that stopped operation and all the doctors and nurses are doing their heroic things, trying to take care of more patients that they can handle,'' said Herbosa.
''To me, that's heroism that we should tell others, not that we lost the battle. Because if we say lost, it's as if we have given up, we have already closed the hospitals," he explained.
He said the hospitals are still catering and trying to save lives of people.
As of March 31, the status of the hospitals in Metro Manila, according to the Department of Health were the following: Intensive Care Unit beds, 79 percent utilized; isolation beds, 69 percent utilized; ward beds, 61 percent utlized; and ventilators, 60 percent utilized. Celerina Monte/DMS
