The use of intensive care unit (ICU) and critical care beds in Metro Manila has gone down amid reports that some areas in the region have high to critical risk ICU rates, a health official said Wednesday.

“Dito sa Metro Manila, collectively, nakita natin bumaba naman talaga ang usage ng ICU and critical care beds. In fact, ang utilization rate dito ay bumaba na sa 50 percent nasa low risk category na siya (In Metro Manila, collectively, we’ve seen the usage of ICU and critical care beds went down. In fact, the utilization rate has gone down to 50 percent and it’s in the low-risk category), Health Undersecretary and treatment czar Leopoldo Vega said during a televised public briefing.

However, Vega noted some cities moved to the high-risk category. These include the City of Makati, City of Muntinlupa and the province of Rizal.

“Lalo na sa Rizal, kokonti lang naman talaga ang beds nila na (Especially in Rizal, it really has few beds for) ICU,” he said.

“But we know here in Metro Manila, we are borderless and it’s easy to refer patients. The hospitals which are level 2 and level 3, it’s easy to coordinate them with the One Hospital Command to transfer or refer to different institutions here in Metro Manila with high vacancy,” he added.

Vega explained the decrease in the number of new infections lowered the number of severe and critical cases thus the decline in the usage of ICU and critical care beds in Metro Manila.

To decongest the hospitals in the region, Vega said the government was able to provide almost 400 additional ICU beds and open modular field hospitals which have started accommodating patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).

He added Covid-19 referral hospitals like East Avenue Medical Center in Quezon City and Jose Rodriguez Memorial Hospital in Caloocan City already have few patients with Covid-19 admitted in their ICUs. (PNA)