DOH: Effects of ECQ known in 2 weeks
BY JOCELYN MONTEMAYOR and GERARD NAVAL
The National Capital Region Plus still had the highest number of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases in the past two weeks that Metro Manila and the provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna and Rizal were under enhanced community quarantine.
Director Alethea de Guzman of the Department of Health Epidemiology Bureau said: “We recorded 11,601 cases and the top regions from where these new cases were recorded from NCR, Calabarzon and the CAR (Cordillera Administration Region).”
De Guzman said aside from the increase in the number of cases in the NCR and Calabarzon, the DOH also observed higher reported cases in the Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley Region, and Central Luzon Region.
Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the impact of the two-week lockdown period will not instantly reflect in the daily case bulletin since the number of COVID cases are expected to decline only one or two weeks after the two-week lockdown period.
In a virtual press briefing, Vergeire said: “As to the number of cases, we still cannot see the expected decline for this week. We will see it in about 10 to 14 days after the ECQ.”
De Guzman said while the 11,601 cases is lower than previous confirmed cases of more than 12,000 cases, the data received by the DOH is still incomplete due to delays in reporting from the regions, especially with the recent long weekend.
De Guzman also said there have been a high number of recorded deaths recently, with the average death per day in March recorded at 46, and the first week of April at 41.
These, she said, are lower than the average deaths during the peak of the pandemic last year, or around July to August, which she said reached 54 in July and 68 in August.
She noted that for the month of March, deaths tallied at 1,434, while for the first week of April, the deaths were at 447.
DOH records showed that in August last year, recorded deaths reached 2,099, and there were 1,682 persons who succumbed to the disease in July.
“So, in comparison we’re still doing better. It just also means that we really know what we need to do. It’s a matter of just pushing it a bit more and having the partnership, not just of government but all sectors to improve our health care system,” De Guzman said.
HEALTHCARE CAPACITY
Vergeire said the government used the ECQ time to improve the NCR Plus bubble’s healthcare capacity. During this period, she said 164 intensive care unit (ICU) beds and 3,000 isolation and ward beds were added, and the extension facilities at the Quezon Institute and the National Center for Mental Health (NCMH) were opened.
She also said Level 1 hospitals are now also being tapped as step facilities for bigger medical centers.
“Looking at these 2 weeks of ECQ, while the healthcare utilization rate is still not at safe level, we can see that we are already improving in our capacity and we are improving our response,” she said, adding: “It is very important for us right now that while we were under ECQ, we were able to find ways to expand our healthcare capacity.”
Health undersecretary and concurrent treatment czar Leopoldo Vega said public and private hospitals have agreed to provide a total of 1,042 regular beds as COVID-19 dedicated beds and 142 ICU beds to accommodate more patients and augment the current bed allocation in health institutions.
Vega said the NCMH has close to 1,000 beds available that can be used as COVID-19 beds, noting that only 400 to 500 beds of the 3,500-bed capacity facility are occupied by non-COVID patients.
He said two pavilions were set up at the NCMH to accommodate 250 to 700 persons affected by mild and moderate COVOFD-19 infections.
On the other hand, an additional 110 isolation beds for moderate and severe COVID-19 patients have been set up at the Quezon Institute, 330 beds for mild and asymptomatic patients at the Manila Times College in Subic, 165 beds for mild and asymptomatic individuals at the New Clark City in Tarlac, 200 beds for mild and asymptomatic patients at the Eva Macapagal Terminal in Manila, and 100 beds for mild and symptomatic, at the Orion Port Terminal in Bataan.
“This was what we did during the past two weeks to provide enough number of isolation beds and COVID beds in the hospitals to free them and avoid straining health system capacity,” Vega said.
The two-week breather was necessary, according to Dr. Alethea De Guzman of the DOH Epidemiology Bureau, especially since ICU bed utilization rates in 13 cities in the NCR Plus bubble have already reached the high or critical risk level as of April 11.
De Guzman said those in high or critical risk levels include the cities of Makati, Malabon, Muntinlupa, San Juan and Taguig, and the province of Rizal which all recorded 100 percent use of their ICU beds.
Also included in the ICU utilization high or critical risk level are the cities of Pasig (91 percent), Quezon (89 percent), Mandaluyong (88 percent) Parañaque (88 percent), and Pasay (87 percent), and the provinces of Laguna (86 percent) and Bulacan (84 percent).
DOWNWARD TREND?
Fellow Guido David from the independent OCTA Research Team expressed belief that a downward trend in COVID-19 cases may already become evident as early as next week.
“We project that, by next week, we will start to see a clear downward trend in cases,” David said, citing the drastic improvement in the reproduction rate in the region, which now stands at 1.23 as compared to over 2 before the start of the ECQ.
“We’re hoping that by next week, it will be close to 1. When it goes down to 1, that means we will start on a clear downward trend,” he added.
Asked if such a trend can be attained despite the shift to MECQ, he answered in the affirmative. “Hopefully, with the momentum that we have from the ECQ, even though we downgraded it to MECQ, we can carry this momentum and continue to have a negative growth rate,” said David.
MECQ GUIDELINES
Under MECQ, all movement in the affected areas would still be limited to obtaining essential goods and services, as well as for work in permitted offices and establishments for those who are Authorized Persons Outside of Residence (APORs).
Public transportation remains operational following guidelines issued by the Department of Transportation, and face-to-face classes remain suspended in all levels.
Individual outdoor exercises within the vicinity of one’s residence are allowed under MECQ while those ages 18 to 65 years old, including those with immunodeficiency, comorbidity, and other health risks, and pregnant women are still advised to stay at home at all times under MECQ.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said religious gatherings will be allowed in MECQ but only up to 10 percent of the venue capacities, but LGUs may increase the capacity up to 30 percent. He said mass gatherings are allowed for necrological services, wakes, inurnment, and funerals, with movement allowed for immediate family members to attend the wake or interment of the deceased.
Carmelo Arcilla, executive director Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), said the National Task Force Against COVID-19 has approved the temporary travel suspension to the Western Visayas Region (Region VI) from the NCR Plus bubble, Cebu City and Davao City starting today, April 13, until April 19. The region consists of the provinces of Aklan, Antique, Capiz, Guimaras, Iloilo and Negros Occidental.
The request was made by Western Visayas local government units amid the surge in COVID infections in the NCR Plus and the cities of Cebu and Davao.
Arcilla said Authorized Persons Outside of their Residences (APORS) who are travelling by air, including persons transporting them to and from the airport, will be exempted from the 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew.
He also said that incoming international travelers are still limited to 1,500 per day.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court yesterday ordered the physical closures of courts in Santiago city in Isabela, Quirino and Abra until April 18 while the MECQ in these areas remain in effect. With this, the filing of court pleadings and motion will be suspended and will only resume seven calendar days once the courts physically reopen.
The Office of the Ombudsman said its central office in Quezon City will remain closed for the remainder of the week as several of its employees from various departments have tested positive of COVID-19, necessitating the imposition of tighter healthy and safety protocols.
An informant said among those who were infected were personnel from the Office of Ombudsman Samuel Martires, the Office of the Deputy Ombudsman for Luzon, the Office of the Deputy Ombudsman for the Military and Other Law Enforcement Offices (MOLEO), and the Field Investigation Office.
Martires confirmed among those who tested positive for coronavirus were seven members of his own staff, all of whom are now undergoing the mandatory 14-day quarantine.
The informant said there were at least “four or five” cases in the DO for Luzon, MOLEO and the FIO. — With Noel Talacay, Ashzel Hachero and Peter Tabingo
