MANILA—St. Luke's Medical Center remains at full capacity but there are fewer COVID-19 patients at its emergency room, its chief medical officer said Tuesday.

This could be due to additional government isolation facilities, more virus beds in other hospitals, the rise of tele-consult services, and a possible decrease in COVID-19 cases following a 2-week strict lockdown, according to Dr. Benjamin Campomanes.

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"Although full capacity pa rin kami, ang nahalata namin is ang pila namin sa emergency from mild to moderate ay nabawasan," Campomanes told ABS-CBN's Teleradyo.

(Although we're still at full capacity, we can see that the line in our emergency room from mild to moderate has decreased.)

St. Luke's, which has 250 COVID-19 beds in its 2 hospitals in Taguig and Quezon City, has been accepting only moderate to critical virus cases, Campomanes said.

It does not reserve beds for any COVID-19 case, and it is best for patients to call ahead before going to the hospital, he added.

"Wala hong ganu'n. Pwedeng iyong nag-aantay sa ER ay hingalo na, kaya hindi ho kami naga-accept ng reservation para sa COVID," he said.

(There's no such thing. Those who are waiting in the ER could be dying, so we do not accept reservation for COVID.)

"Pipila ho talaga kayo. Madaming VIP sa'min na pumila bago makakuha ng kuwarto."

(You will need to wait your turn. Many VIPs lined up before they got a room.)

Patients who experience difficulty breathing or whose oxygen saturation rate has gone below 92 percent must be confined, according to Campomanes.

"Ang importante po talaga is paghinga, acute respiratory syndrome ito. Baga ang tinatamaan," he said.

(Breathing is what's important. This is an acute respiratory syndrome. It will hit your lungs.)

Non-COVID patients are urged to visit the hospital as it has a separate emergency room for such cases, he added.

The hospital's virus transmission rate remains low and infections are usually contracted in the community, Campomanes said.

"OK po naman. Meron ho kaming mass testing na nangyayari ngayon," he said when asked about the hospital's frontliners.

(They're OK. We're doing mass testing right now.)

The Philippines on Monday reported 11,378 more COVID-19 cases, bringing its total to 876,225. Of this figure, 157,451 or 18 percent are active infections.

It is forecast to reach 1 million virus cases by the end of the month, OCTA Research earlier said.

• Philippines' total COVID-19 cases may reach 1 million by end-April: OCTA

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