Defense Secretary and National Task Force on Covid-19 chairperson, Delfin Lorenzana. (Screengrab from RTVM)
MANILA – Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the government plans to construct "One Hospital Command Centers" in different regions as part of response efforts to the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.
"At sa susunod na mga araw siguro, magtatayo din tayo ng ganitong 'One Hospital Command Center(s)' sa iba-ibang region. Layunin nitong pangasiwaan ang mga ospital pati na 'yung mga treatment centers (In the coming days possible, we will set-up 'One Hospital Command Center(s)' in different regions. Its goal is to manage the hospitals and treatment centers)," Lorenzana said at the launch of the Covid-19 Command Center in Makati City on Thursday.
Lorenzana, also chairperson of the National Task Force on Covid-19, said this came following reports that some hospitals are no longer accepting Covid-19 patients as they have reached full capacity.
He added that these centers will be tasked to monitor which hospitals are full and those are still able to accept patients.
He also said that having these centers in place will ensure that those requiring hospitalization will have access 24/7 with just one phone call away.
On Wednesday, the Department of Health (DOH) has proposed the increase of bed allocation in public and private hospitals nationwide.
The agency said it has proposed to increase the Covid-19 bed from 30 to 50 percent in public hospitals, and from 20-30 percent in private hospitals to avoid reaching 100 percent utilization rate and to ensure that hospital facilities will be adequately prepared and are not overwhelmed by a surge of cases.
Apart from the One Hospital Command program, the DOH has started with the implementation of Coordinated Operations to Defeat Epidemic (CODE) protocol in coordination with local government units.
The Philippines currently has 115,980 Covid-19 cases, of which 47,587 are active cases. (PNA)
