By Dolly Yasa
BACOLOD City – The Bacolod Emergency Operations Center (EOC) reported that 76 percent of COVID-19 beds in seven hospitals here are already filled up.
This occupancy rate is higher compared to February when the utilization rate was as low as 20 to 30 percent, the EOC said.
“There is a total of 136 patients admitted to seven hospitals in Bacolod City, 95 [of them] or 68 percent are residents of Bacolod City. Consequently, the remaining 32 percent are coming from the municipalities and cities of Negros Occidental,” the EOC added in its report.
This leaves 43 available beds for COVID-19 patients, 28 of which are in the six private hospitals and the remaining 15 beds in the only government hospital here.
The bed utilization data was gathered through the One Hospital Command Center (OHCC) of the EOC.
The OHCC was established through the leadership of EOC Task Force head Mayor Evelio Leonardia to ensure available hospital beds for those individuals with severe COVID-19 symptoms seeking hospital care and treatment.
The OHCC aims to facilitate the transmission of critical and medical information from hospitals to the EOC on a daily basis.
The data are then used to manage the healthcare capacity of the locality.
It proved helpful in decongesting hospitals and providing available beds to better accommodate moderate to critical COVID-19 patients.
EOC executive director and City Administrator Em Ang reminded all Bacolodnons to follow the minimum health protocols, like the wearing of face masks and face shields, and observing social distancing.
Ang said that these simple practices could mitigate the transmission of COVID-19.
She added that people must avoid “super-spreader” events like mass gatherings to lessen “person-to-person” transmission.
Meanwhile, OIC-City Health Officer Dr. Edwin Miraflor encouraged all Bacolodnons to register in the COVID-19 vaccination program online or through their barangays. (With a report from PIO)
