National Task Force Against Covid-19 (NTF) deputy chief implementer Vivencio Dizon on Thursday said hospitals in the NCR Plus area committed additional beds to cater to Covid-19 patients.

In a Palace briefing, Dizon said they had a meeting with public and private hospitals from National Capital Region, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal early this day wherein they vowed to add 176 more intensive care unit (ICU) beds and more than 1,000 ward beds in their facilities.

This as the NCR Plus continues to report a high number of Covid-19 cases, he added.

Currently, the utilization rate of ICU beds in Metro Manila and four nearby provinces is still at a critical level.

Department of Health data show that 82 percent of the 700 ICU beds in NCR Plus are being used as of April 21.

Dizon said with the additional ICU facilities committed by hospitals, ICU utilization rate is expected to ease to the 70-percent level.

He added that it is also NTF’s target to bring down the ICU bed utilization level from critical to moderate before May when the government will be announcing the community quarantine classification in the NCR Plus.

Aside from additional hospital beds, more isolation facilities in Metro Manila and nearby provinces will be put up, Dizon said.

He said the Philippine Red Cross has opened isolation facilities at the University of the Philippines Diliman and Ateneo de Manila University in Quezon City, and De La Salle University-College of St. Benilde in Manila.

“Magtatayo pa ng marami pang isolation facilities sa iba pang pribado at pampublikong eskwelahan. And meron din pong mga tent facilities na idadagdag sa ating government hospitals (We will build more isolation facilities in other private and public schools. And there are also tent facilities that will be added in our government hospitals),” Dizon added. (PNA)