Two major hospitals in the National Capital Region have shut their doors on COVID-19 patients as they are facing a deluge of cases.
The Medical City in Pasig said that as of yesterday, its COVID emergency room, floors, and intensive care unit (ICU) have reached “full capacity.”
In an interview today with ABS-CBN’s Teleradyo, the hospital’s spokesman Dr. Rafael Claudio said that there are about 100 COVID-19 patients in Medical City, with 84 tagged as moderate cases while 16 are in the ICU. At least 20 patients are waiting in the emergency room as of yesterday.
“We are asking for your understanding because we can no longer accept patients who will just end up waiting in the ER. You may want to look into other hospitals listed [in the government’s] ONE Hospital Command,” Claudio said in English and Filipino.
The Asian Hospital and Medical Center in Muntinlupa City is in a similar situation and released a statement saying that as of yesterday, they have reached full capacity in their COVID wards.
“Asian Hospital will continue to accept non-COVID-19, both inpatient and outpatient, and our eConsults and online appointments are also available to attend to your medical needs,” it said.
The Philippines has the second-highest number of COVID cases in Southeast Asia, with 671,792 recorded as of yesterday including 577,850 recoveries and 12,972 deaths. The Duterte government has started vaccinating healthcare workers using CoronaVac and AstraZeneca vaccines, donated from China and the COVAX facility respectively. No legally procured vaccine has arrived in the Philippines as of today.
