(File photo)
MANILA – The Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines (PHAPI) is in favor of the National Capital Region (NCR) remaining under Alert Level 1 status until June 30.
In a televised public briefing, PHAPi president Dr. Jose Rene de Grano said the hospital utilization rate of Covid-19 cases in private hospitals is low.
“So, ibig sabihin, we can still admit [patients] at saka very low risk pa rin po tayo sa Covid-19 kasi mainly because ang mga sintomas po ng ating mga new variants siguro ay mas mild rather than the previous variants ano po. So, kaya pa po ng mga hospitals iyan (that means, we can still admit patients and we’re still very low risk for Covid-19 mainly because the symptoms of our new variants are milder than previous variants. So, the hospitals can still admit),” he said. “Iyon pong pagmi-maintain natin sa Alert Level 1, sa palagay ko po ay okay na iyan (Maintaining the Alert Level 1, I believe, is okay)."
However, he said the healthcare system must be ready in case there is an increase in coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases.
“We should be prepared for that and the hospitals po will be ready, especially the private hospitals,” he added.
Earlier, the OCTA Research Group warned that cases in the NCR are increasing at a “slightly faster pace” and is under moderate risk based on their metrics.
However, moderate risk does not translate to an escalation of the alert level, the group said.
Debunking the claim of OCTA, the Department of Health said that NCR is still under low-risk classification for Covid-19 as of June 16.
As of June 15, DOH data show that while NCR shows positive two-week growth rate, its average daily attack rate is still below six at less than one case per 100,000 population.
Moreover, its healthcare utilization rate remains to be at low risk. (PNA)
