Hospitals told to refer mild, asymptomatic COVID-19 patients to temporary facilities

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health asked hospitals to refer mild and asymptomatic coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients to temporary treatment centers to avoid getting swamped as the country faces another surge in new infections

“It’s even part of our protocol na pagka-mild at asymptomatic cases, dapat nasa temporary treatment and monitoring facilities with adequate monitoring para di natin naco-congest ang hospitals,” DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a media forum Wednesday.  

(It’s even part of our protocol that those with mild symptoms and those who are asymptomatic should be referred to treatment and monitoring facilities with adequate monitoring to avoid congestions in our hospitals.)

But Vergeire stressed that this does not mean medical facilities should not accommodate mild and asymptomatic cases, noting hospitals should attend to needs of the patients before referring them to treatment facilities.

Mild and asymptomatic COVID-19 patients with pre-existing conditions should be also allowed to be confined in hospitals because they are deemed vulnerable to the disease.

The health official said hospitals should follow the practice of Philippine General Hospital, which has partnered with the Philippine International Convention Center—one of the temporary treatment and quarantine facilities in Metro Manila. 

Earlier, the department said that 11 hospitals in Metro Manila have reported that all of their beds dedicated to COVID-19  are occupied. The other hospitals in the capital region have reported nearing COVID-19 capacity.

But Vergeire said this does not mean they were already overwhelmed similar to what happened in March when both hospital beds and manpower were stretched by an influx of COVID-19 cases.

The health official said not all hospitals comply with the department’s Administrative Order 2020-0016, which mandates the allocation of at least 30% of all hospital beds for COVID-19 patients.

The country has been seeing a renewed spike in virus infections as the government further eased quarantine measures and allowed more industries to reopen. To date, COVID-19 has sickened 47,873 people in the Philippines, with 1,309 deaths.