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By Red Mendoza
September 30, 2022
(UPDATE) THIRTEEN of the 17 local government units (LGUs) in the National Capital Region or Metro Manila continue to see higher Covid-19 cases and some have registered increased hospitalization rates, the Department of Health (DoH) said on Thursday.
The continuing rise in cases prompted the department to again prepare for the mobilization of the One Hospital Command Center.
Only the cities of Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas and Valenzuela were not considered as moderate risk, acting Health secretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said during a briefing Thursday.
Tagged as moderate risk are the cities of Manila, Quezon, Marikina, Makati, Mandaluyong, Pasig, Pasay, Parañaque, Taguig, Las Pinas, San Juan and Muntinlupa, and the town of Pateros.
Vergeire said the national daily average of 2,334 cases from September 22 to 28 is 7 percent higher than the previous week.
Covid-19 hospital admissions are also up in Pasig, Muntinlupa, Malabon, Makati, Navotas and Caloocan.
Vergeire said that despite the increase in admissions, overall bed utilization in Metro Manila remained below 70 percent.
Because the increase is more than 50 percent, the DoH has begun to monitor the situation, Vergeire said.
She said she has met with the DoH Metro Manila Center for Health Development, the LGUs and the different hospitals in the region to prepare the National Patient Navigation and Referral Center (One Hospital Command Center) for possible patient transfers, especially those with mild and asymptomatic symptoms.
Vergeire said there is no need to open additional quarantine and isolation facilities because there are enough quarantine and isolation centers to handle the new cases.
The rise in cases in the region was expected, and should not be blamed solely on the easing of the mask mandate, she said. Also coming into play are increased mobility, the presence of more infectious variants, and waning immunity.
"We all need to change our mindset, and we all need to remember that the virus will continue to stay with us, we will have to live with the virus," Vergeire said.
She added that if hospital admissions continue to rise and the number of severe and critical cases reaches more than 50 to 60 percent, the DoH will recommend bringing back the mandatory wearing of masks outdoors.
