The Manila city government has taken measures to prepare its quarantine facilities and update its response initiatives to the threat of the resurging Covid-19 Omicron variant infections.
The city has a 530 Covid-19 bed capacity and a buffer of about 200 beds in several dormitels. Only 37 beds are actually in use while this story is written.
Manila Mayor “Isko Moreno” Domagoso and officials of the Manila Health Department (MHD), Manila Department Risk Reduction Management, and Manila Police District inspected renovation works at the Araullo High School site along United Nations Avenue. one of 12 facilities put up last year.
The Manila Covid-19 Field Hospital at the Quirino Grandstand grounds in Rizal Park currently has a 93% occupancy rate as it hosts mild and asymptomatic patients, including returning overseas Filipinos, to free up hospitals.
In terms of available treatment for Covid-19 patients, the MHD stockpile includes 3,500 pieces of remdesivir, 700 tocilizumab, and 22,000 tablets of molnupiravir. To these were added 20,000 pieces of molnupiravir delivered Monday. The medicines are free for all, Manila residents or not.
Additionally, the Manila city government also has 1,300 tanks containing about 60,000 liters of oxygen. The city’s six district hospitals have a total Covid-19 capacity of 501 beds. 207 or 41% of which are occupied.