Thread by @cnnphilippines

THREAD: @iampinkywebb speaks to treatment czar Leopoldo Vega on #TheSource | LIVE bit.ly/3sTVUfa

• Mild, asymptomatic COVID patients to be moved to quarantine facilities
• More healthcare workers to be sent to NCR
• OCTA sees PH hitting 1M cases before end-April

Treatment czar and DOH Undersecretary Leopoldo Vega: Hospitals in NCR Plus now on high-risk to critical level

Treatment czar Vega: 8,000 COVID-19 beds allotted in NCR Plus level 1-3 hospitals

Treatment czar Vega: We have to decongest hospitals from mild, asymptomatic COVID-19 patients

Treatment czar Vega says patients prefer big, level 3 hospitals due to complete facilities: There are few in the metro, and some are on high-risk and critical levels

Treatment czar Vega: Hospitals need to maintain non-COVID beds. Mortality will increase if there's no balance between the two.

Treatment czar Vega suggests forming an 'integrated network' with LGUs: They should act like a pre-hospital triage and make sure that only moderate and severe COVID-19 patients will be admitted for hospital care

Treatment czar Vega: Mild, asymptomatic COVID-19 patients can be managed by LGUs or stepped-down facilities

Treatment czar Vega says 41% of admissions are mild, asymptomatic cases: For these patients, if you have a room and you don't have high-risk persons living with you, you can manage yourself with an oximeter and through telemedicine

Treatment czar Vega: For gov't center, biggest emergency room for COVID-19 referrals is in Quirino Memorial Medical Center

Treatment czar Vega: Hesitancy to move to a public hospital from a private center can be a problem

Treatment czar Vega says they noticed a spike in hospital occupancy in nearby regions: We need to have more infrastructure. Even big institutions are choked in terms of volume.

Treatment czar Vega says DOH data on hospital occupancy is not real time

Treatment czar Vega on proposal to convert some hotels into temporary hospital facilities: I think it's a big idea that can lessen the impact on the health system capacity. These can be allied by big level institutions and can accommodate mild and even moderate cases.

A group of physicians appealed to President Duterte to convert hotels into temporary hospital facilities amid the surge in COVID-19 cases in the country bit.ly/31JpAzt