MANILA - The Department of Health (DOH) on Friday urged hospitals to allocate sufficient beds for COVID-19 patients, noting that not all health facilities have complied with the prescribed number of beds for those infected with the virus.

Under DOH policy, 30 percent of beds in public hospitals must be dedicated for COVID-19 patients, while private hospitals must comply with a 20 percent requirement.

"As of August 24, there were 59 out of 443 government hospitals which are still below the 30 percent COVID allocation... while 26 percent of private hospitals are still below the 20 percent COVID bed allocation," Health spokesperson Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in an online press conference.

"Please comply... so we can accommodate more patients," she said.

The DOH made the appeal as the Philippines continued to see a rise in COVID-19 cases due to the presence of foreign mutations of the virus, which are more contagious than the original strain from Wuhan, China.

As of August 26, 2021, 75 percent of intensive care unit beds in hospitals across the country are already occupied, while isolation beds for COVID-19 patients are already utilized, according to data from the DOH.

All areas in Metro Manila and 9 other regions were considered high-risk as hospitals in these areas are nearly full, the DOH said.

The risk classifications are determined based on health care utilization rate:

• Low: Below 60%
• Moderate: 60% to 69%
• High: 70% to 84%
• Critical: 85% and above

• Entire Metro Manila, 9 other regions classified as high risk for COVID-19: DOH

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