DAVAO City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio announced on Monday, July 20, 2020, that the city will have its second coronavirus disease (Covid-19) hospital due to the increasing active Covid-19 cases.
Duterte-Carpio said the Dumoy Satellite Facility of the Davao Doctors Hospital (DDH) has already started catering to Covid-19 positive patients.
Since March, all Covid-19 cases in the city have been brought to the Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC). It was the only designated Covid-19 hospital in the city to slow the spread of the disease and not overwhelm the health system in the city.
"Nag-abli na 'ta because increase na ang atong cases, dili na siya maapas dinha sa atong SPMC (We opened our second facility due to the increasing number of Covid-19 case, which the SPMC is struggling to cater to)," the mayor said in an interview via 87.5 FM Davao City Disaster Radio.
She clarified this is different from the DDH main building along Quirino Avenue.
The mayor said Dumoy, based on the recent update she received, has 18 beds and two intensive care unit (ICU) beds.
She said they decided to have a second Covid-19 treatment facility in the city to decongest SPMC, which still caters to non-Covid-19 patients.
"Daghan pud ang mga nanginahanglan sa lain pang medical services sa SPMC (A lot of people are also relying on SPMC's other medical services)," Duterte-Carpio said.
According to the July 19 data of the Department of Health-Davao Region (DOH-Davao), Davao City remains to be the Covid-19 hotspot in the entire region with 686 total confirmed cases. Out of the 686, 419 already recovered, 35 died and 232 are still recovering.
Based on its July 19 data, SPMC is currently treating 171 patients. Patients being catered to are from Davao City and neighboring areas.
Unlike in SPMC, which the government shoulders the hospital bills of the patients, the mayor said the DDH-Dumoy satellite hospital will be intended for "paying patients."
However, the mayor is not aware of SPMC's policy in accepting Covid-19 patients
The mayor previously said the City Government has already reached out to three hospitals, including DDH, for the probability to start accepting Covid-19 patients.
The two other hospitals, which she did not name, are preparing in case they would also be asked to begin treating Covid-19 patients.
Duterte-Carpio, however, said the city is hopeful that they will not have to ask other private hospitals to start accepting Covid-19 patients.
"Hopeful 'ta nga with all the lockdowns, control measures, and all the reminders nato sa mga tao about health protocols sa personal na kinahanglan nila buhaton sa ilang opisina and other business establishments, dili ta muabot sa punto nga ma-open nato ang tanang reserved hospitals," the mayor said.
(We are hopeful that we were able to mitigate the increasing cases through our implemented lockdowns, and other control measures, including our constant reminder to the public about health protocols they should follow within their offices and business establishments. We hope with this, we won't be able to open our other reserved hospitals.)
SunStar Davao contacted SPMC medical professional staff chief Dr. Ricardo Audan for further details on the mayor's statement but he declined due to his busy schedule.
Based on the July 19 SPMC data, both ICU and ward Covid-19 occupancy rate is nearing its "warning zone" level.
Out of the 37 ICU beds, 22 are already occupied, resulting in a 59.46-percent occupancy rate.
Meanwhile, 117 of the 211 ward beds are already occupied, resulting in a 55.45-percent occupancy rate.
Duterte-Carpio said in a previous radio interview that SPMC will be at risk of being overwhelmed once the city will shift to lower quarantine classifications such as general community quarantine.