According to the Department of Health (DOH), total and ICU bed utilization rates for COVID-19, at both the national and regional levels, remain to be at low risk. This is despite sustained case increases observed over the last month.
The DOH observed a slow and smaller upward trend of COVID-19 admission over the past week. Most of these admissions were asymptomatic and mild, numbering 1,471 or 59 percent of the 2,487 admissions. The Department noted 666 severe and critical cases, which are only 9 percent of the COVID-19 admissions. As of July 24, 2022, national total bed utilization was at 26 percent, while ICU bed utilization was at 22 percent.
The reassuring situation was noted, despite the sustained case increases DOH recorded over the past month. 19,930 cases were reported from July 19 to July 25, averaging 2,847 cases per day. This was higher by 30 percent compared to the country’s daily average from the previous week, at only 2,190 cases per day. Week by week, a larger seven-day moving average (7DMA) is being recorded. This is correlated with the observed increases in weekly positivity rates now at 14 percent nationally. The case increases were also observed across all age groups.
Our latest projections are showing that these case increases may translate to a spike in total and ICU admissions in October, if compliance with minimum public health standard (MPHS) continues to decline and booster rates remain low.
The Department ensures that all hospitals and health facilities are able to provide appropriate critical care capacity that is accessible to all, especially to vulnerable individuals, to be able to maintain a decreased impact on the country’s health care system.
“With a continuous rise in COVID-19 cases, the DOH reminds the general public to remain vigilant and adhere to our minimum public health standards such as wearing the best-fitted masks, social distancing, and immediate isolation at the onset of symptoms. We also encourage the eligible population to get vaccinated and boosted with our COVID-19 vaccines to continue building a strong wall of immunity against the virus. While we now focus more on our admissions, we should still give importance to contributing factors that we can control,” said DOH Officer-in-Charge Secretary Maria Rosario Singh-Vergeire. (DOH)
