RDC 7 denies hospital situation ‘alarming,’ off-site center ‘full’

A VIRAL message which reportedly came from a doctor claiming that the situation in Chong Hua Hospital when it comes to dealing with coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) patients is reaching "alarming levels" and that an off-site field center is already full is not true.

"For the past six weeks, the average occupancy of Covid-19 patients in Chong Hua Hospital is 60 patients. Is it overflowing? No," said Kenneth Cobonpue, chairman of the Regional Development Council-Central Visayas.

He said the number of Covid-19 admissions per day at the hospital has been five to eight patients per day since early May.

Cobonpue said it is not the same alarming level of more than 10 new Covid admissions per day in the hospital when enhanced community quarantine started in March.

The only reason there was a seemingly higher number of Covid-19 patients in recent days was the backlog for retesting of patients before discharge, coupled with the confirmatory testing of patients about to undergo elective surgery, he said.

"In other words, some of these patients are just waiting to be discharged safely. With the newly increased capacity of both the VSMMC (Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center) and DOH TBRL (Tb Reference Laboratory) labs, this backlog is now being addressed," Cobonpue said.

He said there are other offsite centers handling Covid-19 patients. However, the capacities of which, he said, are also being bloated by the "viral fake message."

The Ateneo de Cebu-Sacred Heart School Bayanihan Center has 40 patients currently admitted in the 48-bed capacity facility, including the five new admissions as of Saturday, May 30. Ten patients have reportedly been discharged over the past week.

The 130-bed capacity Bayanihan Center at the International Eucharistic Congress building in Barangay Mabolo, Cebu City, he said, is still vacant, while the newly built field center at the North Reclamation Area with a capacity of 166 beds will be ready in a few days.

These centers, he said, were made in anticipation of a spike in Covid-positive residents, especially since mass rapid community testing was made.

"We understand the concern now that GCQ (general community quarantine) is about to take effect in Cebu (on June 1.) People should definitely continue to take the necessary precautions when they leave their homes and continue to only do so when it is needed. We should never be complacent," he said.

Cobonpue added: "Let's all be careful not to spread unverified and potentially misleading information that adds to everyone's fear. We all need to learn to live with this virus, at least, until a vaccine arrives."