 Hundreds
of Philippine hospitals near full capacity as virus cases surge
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[August 09, 2021]
MANILA (Reuters) - Nearly a fifth of
hospitals in the Philippines are close to full capacity as a surge in
COVID-19 infections, driven by the highly contagious Delta variant of
the virus, spreads across the Southeast Asian country, the health
ministry said on Monday.
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 Coronavirus cases in the Philippines, a country of 110 million, have
been growing at a rate of around 8,000 to 10,000 infections a day
over recent weeks, above the daily average of 5,700 cases reported
last month, according to official data.
"It is highly possible the cases will continue to rise even after
ECQ," health ministry spokesperson Maria Rosario Vergeire said,
referring to enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), the classification
used in the capital Manila and its surrounding areas for its
strictest form of lockdown.
Of the 1,291 hospitals in the Philippines, 236 have reached
"critical levels" of over 85% occupancy because of the rise in
cases, she said. Hospitals in the capital region, the epicentre of
the current outbreak, were facing a similar situation with 25 of 159
facilities nearing full capacity, she added.
Last Friday, authorities placed the capital region, an urban sprawl
of 16 cities home to more than 13 million people, under a two week
lockdown https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/manila-locks-down-philippines-virus-cases-near-four-month-high-2021-08-06
as cases nationwide neared a four month high.
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 Footage recorded by drone on
Monday showed noticeably fewer cars on Manila's
streets following strict limitations on the
movement of people outdoors.
The lockdown would help the government delay a
further rise in cases and give it more time to
reinforce healthcare systems, Vergeire said.
City officials have said they would use the
period to vaccinate four million people in the
capital region.
The Philippines is aiming to inoculate up to 70
million people this year, and 11 million people
have been fully vaccinated so far. The country
has recorded 1.65 million COVID-19 cases since
the pandemic began, and 29,000 deaths.
(Reporting by Karen Lema and Neil Jerome
Morales; Additional reporting by Adrian
Portugal; Editing by James Pearson)
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