AMID calls for the escalation of quarantine restrictions in Metro Manila to prevent the spread of the Delta variant of Sars-CoV-2, the Department of Health (DOH) Epidemiology Bureau noted that the health care utilization rate (HCUR) and intensive care unit utilization rate (ICUR) in the region are still considered low risk.
As of July 28, 2021, the HCUR in the NCR was 42 percent while the ICUR was 50 percent, DOH Epidemiology Bureau Director Dr. Alethea de Guzman said.
Utilization rates below 60 percent are considered within the safe zone, according to the DOH.
The HCUR and ICUR are the main factors considered by the DOH in recommending the escalation of the community quarantine classification of an area. HCUR refers to the regular ward and isolation beds designated for coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) patients while the ICUR refers to the ICU beds designated for Covid-19 patients.
In a televised press conference, De Guzman said, however, that “signs of increase were observed recently.”
“Across the NCR there are no areas where the healthcare capacity is at high risk to critical risk levels, lahat sila less than 70 percent,” De Guzman said.
“Para tayo ay mag-recommend na ilagay sa ECQ (enhanced community quarantine), ang ating HCUR ay umaabot ng 85 percent or higit or hindi kaya if MECQ (modified ECQ) 70 to 84 percent,” she explained.
She said the DOH is focusing on NCR District 4, which includes the cities of Las Piñas, Parañaque, Muntinlupa and Taguig. The ICUR in this area was 62 percent.
In Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna and Rizal, which constitute the plus areas in the NCR plus, a “slow increase” in cases has been observed.
De Guzman said the NCR plus areas are again included in the top areas in the country with high fresh Covid-19 cases along with Central Visayas and Western Visayas.
She said the increase was noted from July 22 to 28, 2021 with 6,029 average daily reported cases compared to the 5,576 in the previous week of July 15 to 21, 2021.
While all areas in the country are experiencing increases in cases, the Mindanao region is exhibiting signs of plateauing.
However, despite the increases, she said there is still a low percentage of active cases at 3.48 percent and low fatality rate at 1.75 percent. The recovery rate, on the other hand, is almost 95 percent.
De Guzman said the DOH also saw a trend reversal from a -10 percent average daily attack rate to a +1 percent in the country.
In NCR alone, the trend reversal is from -6.0 percent to 19 percent. Its ADAR increased to 5.55 per 100,000 population from 4.69 per 100,000 population.
“Sa pagtaas ng kaso kung tayo ay may sapat na health care capacity hindi mao-overwhelm ang ating health systems,” said De Guzman.
To curb transmission, the DOH recommends the shortening of detection to isolation or quarantine intervals to less than five days, the strengthening of facility-based isolation instead of home quarantine and continuous improvement in health care capacities and systems.
It also urged the ramping up of vaccination of priority populations to avoid severe disease and fatalities, further strengthening of border control and intensification of information dissemination about the variants of concern.
The University of the Philippines Philippine Genome Center has detected 97 more cases of the highly transmissible and infectious Delta variant in the country, bringing the total cases to 216.
The UP-PGC also detected 83 Alpha variant cases, 127 Beta variant cases and 22 P.3 cases.
There are now 1,858 Alpha (B.1.1.7) cases and 2,146 Beta (B.1.351) cases in the country.
The Alpha, Beta, Gamma (P.1) and Delta lineages have been designated as variants of concern of Sars-CoV-2, the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19). (SunStar Philippines)