METRO Manila council (MMC) chief and San Juan City Mayor Francis Zamora yesterday said the use of face masks in Metro Manila remains voluntary despite the increasing number of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases in the region.
Zamora noted that the National Capital Region (NCR) is still in the low-risk category for COVID-19, with hospital utilization rate at only 29 percent.
“So that is within the low-risk category. At ang positivity rate po natin ay 25 percent… ngunit karamihan po talaga ay mild lamang (our positivity rate is 25 percent but most of the cases are mild),” Zamora said.
He likewise said the NCR remains at Alert Level 1, where the wearing of face masks is optional.
“Yes, nakikita natin ang ibang mga lungsod ay nagkakaroon ng mask mandate sa kanilang mga lugar but overall in Metro Manila, in coordination with the (Department of Health), ay tayo po ay nasa low risk category at Alert Level 1, at ang pagsusuot po ng face mask ay optional pa rin sa ilalim ng Alert Level 1 na ito (Yes, some cities are reimposing mask mandates, but overall in Metro Manila, together with the DOH, we are under the low risk category at Alert Level 1, and under that category face masks are optional),” Zamora said.
Zamora said the mask mandate was not discussed during the last meeting of Metro mayors, pointing out that local government units have autonomy to impose restrictions to protect their constituents.
“Ibig sabihin, on their own, they can prescribe, through ordinances or executive orders, the use of face masks (That means that on their own, they can prescribe, through ordinances or executive orders, the use of face masks),” he added.
Zamora said the MMC is monitoring the COVID trends and will decide accordingly whether or not to revise the face mask policy in coordination with the DOH.
“Umaasa naman po tayo na hindi na nga po tumaas ang bilang ng mga kaso (We are hoping that cases won’t rise),” he said.
The local executive attributed the low positivity and hospitalization rates in Metro Manila to the high vaccination rate in the region, which he said is at 127 percent of the target population.
He reiterated his appeal for Metro Manila residents to get vaccinated against COVID-19. “If we haven’t been vaccinated or gotten the first or second boosters, we should get them now,” he said.
COVID BED UTILIZATION
Meanwhile, the Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines, Inc. (PHAPI) said COVID bed utilization rates are climbing in some private hospitals.
“We have observed that for the past 2 or 3 days, the number of cases is slightly increasing.
It also resulted to slight increase in admissions in private hospitals,” said PHAPI president Dr. Rene de Grano in a televised public briefing yesterday.
“If before we are at less than 20 percent admission in hospitals, now, some, although not all, are up to more than 20 percent and even 50 percent,” he noted.
Despite this, De Grano stressed that majority of those being admitted are only incidental COVID-19 hospitalizations, or patients admitted for another illness but tested positive for the virus during hospital screening protocols.
“Majority are not cases that require admission due to COVID-19. Majority of COVID-19 cases now have mild symptoms only and we just advise them to undergo isolation at home if they don’t have other illnesses,” he said.
Similarly, De Grano said the high utilization rate seen in some hospitals are likely due to low number of COVID-19 beds.
He cited as an example those with 50 percent occupancy rates which said they only have 20 designated COVID-19 beds, which means that only 10 of these are occupied.
“If they have many beds allocated with a handful of admissions, then the occupancy rate would be low,” he said.
The DOH earlier said the hospital occupancy rates should be the gauge or indicator used in evaluating the COVID-19 situation in the country.
In its May 15 case bulletin report, the DOH said COVID-19 bed utilization rate is at 21.7 percent, while the ICU bed utilization rate is at 18.8 percent. — With Gerard Naval
