NCR will likely stay under GCQ, says DOH

September 28, 2020

The National Capital Region (NCR) will likely remain under general community quarantine (GCQ) after September 30, an official of the Department of Health ( DOH) said Monday.

In a televised press briefing, Health Undersecretary Leopoldo Vega believes that the decongestion in Metro Manila hospitals is not enough to convince the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) to downgrade to modified GCQ.

"If we really want to be de-escalated to MGCQ, the critical care utilization rate should be brought down to below 60 percent or the lower risk category," said Vega.

"Otherwise, if we remain at this level, particularly our ICU bed occupancy, we will likely remain at GCQ," added Vega.

DOH data shows that as of September 26 ICU beds have a 63 percent occupancy rate, while isolation beds have a 51 percent occupancy rate, and 54 percent occupancy rate for ward beds.

Vega said this is why there is a need for public and private hospitals to increase their bed allocation for COVID-19 patients.

The DOH has mandated all private hospitals to allocate 20 percent of its bed capacity for COVID-19 patients. Public hospitals must set aside 30 percent of their bed capacity.

"Currently, the percentage (for bed allocation) is at 19 to 20 percent for private hospitals, and 30 to 32 percent for government hospitals," said Vega. DMS