Health Undersecretary Leopoldo Vega reported that the intensive care units (ICUs) in Metro Manila are already 70 percent full or at the “high-risk” level while the metropolis’ healthcare utilization is at nearly 60 percent or ranked in as “moderate risk.”
These figures are attributed to the rising cases of COVID-19 in the Philippines caused by the highly transmissible Delta variant.
Aside from the alarming healthcare capacity rate, Vega added that there are also COVID-19 “new hotspots” in the country such as Metro Manila, Ilocos Region, Central Luzon, Western Visayas, Central Visayas and Northern Mindanao.
Vega is the government’s Treatment Czar in the country’s battle against COVID-19. He said that the government has taken the necessary steps to address the increasing cases of the virus and the number of ICUs as he emphasized that the country will be confronted with an increased fatality rate if the government fails to manage this new variant properly.
Over the past few months this year, the Philippines had also experienced a similar situation where the capital’s healthcare system was challenged by the increasing cases of COVID-19.
It is safe to admit that we do not want to face a similar problem like in India where they encountered shortage of oxygen tanks and resorted to mass cremation of COVID-19 patients due to the overwhelming number of cases.
If the present administration focuses on the more important issues such as health and economy, instead of spending significant time and resources on political opponents, maybe our country can better take care of the welfare of our health workers. They are exhausted and the weekly television tirades from the President do not contribute to increasing the people’s confidence in the system.
