Health officials reported 2,103 additional COVID-19 cases Friday, as a fourth major Metro Manila hospital, Asian Hospital, said its emergency room was at full capacity and advised patients to seek medical care elsewhere.
Friday’s tally brought total COVID-19 infections in the country to 76,444, with 50,063 still active and undergoing treatment or quarantine.
Of the total additional cases, 1,029 were “fresh cases” that were reported within the last three days, and 1,074 were “late” or those whose results were released four days or more ago.
Of the 2,103 cases, 1,272 were from the National Capital Region, 291 were from Cebu province, 107 were from Laguna, 83 were from Rizal and 53 were from Cavite.
READ: Cases nearing dreaded number
Since the easing of quarantine measures and the gradual opening up of the economy, new COVID-19 cases in Metro Manila have steadily increased, while Cebu island was identified as an emerging hotspot for COVID-19 cases. Region 4A or Calabarzon, which is near NCR, also saw an increase in cases.
The data comes from 78 out of 90 current operational laboratories.
During a televised briefing, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said 144 patients had recovered from COVID-19, bringing total recoveries to 24,502.
There were also 15 additional COVID-related deaths, bringing total fatalities to 1,879.
Of the 15 deaths, 11 (73 percent) were in July, three (20 percent) were in June, and one (7 percent) was in April. The deaths were from Region 7 (13 or 87 percent), Region 3 (one or 7 percent) and Region 6 (one or 7 percent).
Vergeire said this brings the Philippine case fatality rate to 2.36 percent.
The DOH said it removed 49 duplicate cases, including two deaths, from the previous tally.
On Thursday night, the Asian Hospital and Medical Center announced that its emergency room had reached full capacity due to the number of patients being admitted.
READ: PH cases top 70k, gov’t eyes 10M Pinoys for test
“We have reached full capacity at our emergency room as of 6:00 p.m. today, July 23, 2020,” the Ayala Alabang hospital said in a statement.
“As much as we would like to accommodate all patients, our quality of care may be compromised. Thus, we are advising our patients to seek urgent care in other institutions in the meantime,” the advisory read.
READ: More hospitals run out of beds for virus cases
“We will give constant updates as soon as our resources permit us to provide the quality care everyone deserves.”
“We will continue to admit emergency cases, or those requiring immediate and life threatening medical care.”
It was not clear if the patients in its emergency room were COVID-19 cases.
This month, three major hospitals in Metro Manila declared they reached full capacity for treating COVID-19.
St. Luke’s Medical Center in Quezon City and Bonifacio Global City in Taguig had urged the public to bring suspected cases to alternative medical centers.
The Philippine General Hospital also confirmed it could no longer accept critically ill COVID-19 patients from other health facilities because it was almost out of beds.
READ: PGH reports ‘overflowing’ COVID ward
Deputy Majority Leader and Pampanga Rep. Juan Miguel Arroyo, meanwhile, called on the Department of Health (DOH) to explain the figures it has been posting on its website, which he said caused confusion over the exact number of COVID-19 cases in the country.
He said “the DOH is posting so many figures in its website which people, outside of those involved in its data gathering and presentation, including this representation, cannot understand.”
In its website, Arroyo noted, the DOH clearly stated that of the total COVID-19 cases in the country as of July 21, at least 45,646 were still active.
“However, if you will let the computer cursor hover above the entry for Positivity Rate, which stands at 8.6 percent, a figure stating there are already 94,919 positive individuals will appear,” Arroyo said.
“So, what does this figure represent? Clearly it states positive individuals and not positive tests,” he said.
Arroyo also asked the DOH to explain the low recovery rate of COVID-19 patients.
“The Philippines has one of the lowest recovery rates for COVID-19 patients. But the DOH said more than 90 percent of the COVID-19 patients only have a mild infection and some are even asymptomatic. The DOH added that mild cases of COVID-19 infection usually take two to three weeks at the most to recover,” Arroyo said.
“But at the rate the DOH is presenting the number of recoveries, it seems they are taking one to two months to recover. And this is taking a toll also on the government finances [because] as long as the patient has not yet recovered, Philhealth will have to shoulder a portion of their bills. And that is people’s money,” he added.
READ: Palace assures hospitals still up to task handling COVID patients
Arroyo said the DOH has to give the people the true picture of the COVID-19 situation in the country.
Also on Friday, the DOH said it had sent local government units (LGUs) clear home quarantine guidelines as early as April.
The DOH statement came after the Palace suggested that the department failed to emphasize the requirements for home quarantine—the patient must have his or her own room with a toilet, and there must be no high-risk person living in the same house.
Vergeire, however, said information gaps were “inherent in a decentralized system.”
More often than not, she added, policies that are set are subject to different interpretations or are misunderstood.
To prevent such misunderstandings, the DOH attends town hall meetings with the local implementers to carefully explain the health advisories it releases, she said.
She also said the continuing increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in the country should not be attributed solely to the use of home quarantine measures for asymptomatic and mild cases.
The government recently launched Oplan Kalinga where asymptomatic and mild COVID-19 cases who cannot do home quarantine will be escorted to government-run isolation facilities.
