MANILA – The Lung Center of the Philippines may soon need to turn away moderate COVID-19 patients as they are nearing full capacity, a hospital official said Friday.

Asked if they are still accepting patients at the moment, Dr. Randy Castillo said, “Yes, as of the moment, we haven’t reached our full capacity, but I think time will come that since we are dedicated with severe and critical ones, we might be able to shy away the moderate ones.”

Castillo, the head of the hospital’s emergency room division, said their COVID-19 beds and critical units are already 90 percent full.

“This is in comparison to the 40-50 percent occupancy rate that our hospital had the past months when COVID cases were less,” he said in an ANC Headstart interview.

Castillo said they opened more wards last week to accommodate COVID-19 patients.

The doctor also noted that younger patients are getting hospitalized for the deadly disease.

“Previously we’re seeing patients that are senior citizens, those with comorbidities. But now when we make our rounds we are very alarmed that we see patients that are less than 40 years old and some even don’t have comorbidities, so this could be really an emergency for all of us.”

St. Luke's Medical Center chief medical officer and vice president Dr. Benjamin Campomanes made a similar observation Thursday, saying more of those in the working age group are being admitted to SLMC branches in Quezon City and Taguig.

• COVID-19 striking younger patients, unvaccinated: St. Luke’s official

Castillo said the Lung Center of the Philippines is set to open another facility that can accommodate more COVID-19 patients by August or September.