Hospital occupancy in Cebu City now in ‘safe zone’ – Garganera

Health workers received their COVID-19 jab at the Cebu City Medical Center (CCMC). | Cebu City PIO photo

CEBU CITY, Philippines — After months of trying to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease, Cebu City officials said that the city is now in a “safe zone” in terms of hospital occupancy.

This means that admissions of coronavirus disease cases has dropped to 16.4 percent in private hospitals and 44 percent in government hospitals, says Councilor Joel Garganera, the deputy chief implementer of the Emergency Operations Center (EOC).

Garganera said that the occupancy rate in both private and government hospitals in the city is now lower by at least five percent as compared to the first quarter of the year.

It also lower by around 10 percent compared to the hospital occupancy rate during the months of March July 2020, which is the peak of the pandemic in Cebu City.

“Although we have been seeing a lot of new cases in our recent reports vis-a-vis close contact cases, our barometer remains to be the bed occupancy in our hospitals,” Gargnaera said.

Garganera said having a low hospital occupancy rate is an indication that COVID-19 cases in the city remains manageable.

The need to keep the city’s COVID-19 cases low, he said, is also crucial with the ongoing vaccine rollout here.

“We are all aware that the vaccination program may go on for a longer period than expected, which is why it is necessary for us to hold the fort and ensure that our healthcare personnel and facilities will not be overwhelmed,” he added.

As of April 23, 2021, Cebu City reported a total of 885 active with 53 new cases recorded on the same day. / dcb

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