The alert level system with granular lockdowns may be implemented in other provinces starting in the latter part of September, the Department of Health (DOH) said.
DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a briefing that the provincial implementation will depend on the result of the pilot implementation in NCR which is expected to lapse on Sept. 30.
“If it’s going to be effective, if it’s going to be feasible and acceptable, then we can roll it out to the rest of the country,” Vergeire said.
The DOH has yet to study the final metrics that will be used for the new policy, including the status of healthcare utilization and case transmission rates.
Speaking in the Sept. 17 Laging Handa briefing, Dr. Marylaine Padlan of One Hospital Command Center (OHCC) said hospitals are still close to reaching full occupancy in NCR and its nearby provinces.
“Sa mga nahihirapan na ma-admit sa mga ospital, nakikita rin namin dito ‘yung HCUR [healthcare utilization rate] na nire-report din ng DOH. Mayroon pa ring kahirapan po doon sa Region 4A, sa Region 3, and NCR dahil madalas po sila ‘yung nare-receive naming tawag,” she said.
The DOH said it is now studying the possibility of establishing a telemedicine provider in Region 4A.
“Isa rin po sa nakita nating issue dito sa Calabarzon would be ‘di alam ng pasyente kung saan sila pupunta,” Vergeire said.
“They have to be navigated para hindi tayo nagkakaroon ng punuan sa mga ospital because some of those who are going to the hospitals are not really warranted to be in hospitals,” she added.
COVID-19 cases
Data from OCTA Research Group showed that the one-week growth rate of cases in NCR dropped from 14% from Sept. 2 to 8, to 3% from Sept. 10 to 16. The reproduction number also declined from 1.39 to 1.25 for the same period.
However, the DOH said COVID-19 cases in NCR may reach 16,000 to 43,000 by the end of the month.
“Hopefully with what we are doing right now with this pilot implementation, we will not reach this kind of projections,” Vergeire said. – Report from Mark Fetalco/AG-rir
