Private hospitals bearing brunt of COVID-19 in Cebu: DOH

July 2, 2020

Private medical facilities and hospitals in Cebu City are feeling the brunt of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak.

"It is really the private hospitals that are at the critical level with regards to their critical care resources," said Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire in a virtual press briefing.

She cited as an example  Chong Hua Hospital, where the occupancy rate for COVID-19 patients is  at 98 percent.

She noted how government-run Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center has slower utilization rate of COVID-19 beds.

Vergeire said the predicament faced by Cebu City hospitals is similar to the experience of the National Capital Region during the earlier part of the pandemic in March.

"When we started here in NCR, the ones that were overwhelmed are private hospitals, such as St Luke's Medical Center, Makati Medical Center, Asian Hospital. This is the same thing happening right now in Cebu," said Vergeire.

DOH data shows critical care utilization rate in Cebu City is at 62.45 percent, with ICU bed utilization at 55.83 percent, isolation bed utilization at 62.45 percent, and mechanical ventilator utilization at 41.9 percent. DMS