ILOILO City – The provinces of Antique and Aklan as well as the island province of Guimaras have joined this city and the province of Iloilo to be on Alert Level 4 in terms of severity of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) incidence, the Department of Health (DOH) announced Friday.
The province of Capiz was on Alert Level 3, while Bacolod City and Negros Occidental were on Alert Level 2.
An area’s COVID-19 alert level is determined based on its coronavirus case transmission, healthcare utilization rate (HCUR) and the presence of the more transmissible Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
As of this writing, data from DOH Region 6 showed Antique had 22 cases of the Delta variant, Iloilo province, 10; Capiz, two; Iloilo City, four; and Bacolod City, two.
So far, the provinces of Negros Occidental, Aklan and Guimaras have not recorded any case of the Delta variant.
As for the COVID-19 cases, here’s the breakdown per province and highly urbanized city, as of Aug. 12:
* Negros Occidental had 21,566 total confirmed cases – 1,316 active, 19,849 recovered, 392 deaths
* Iloilo province had 18,327 total confirmed cases – 2,877 active, 14,932 recovered, 514 deaths
* Bacolod City had 15,250 total cases – 718 active, 14,764 recovered, 368 deaths
* Iloilo City had 14, 576 total cases – 1,302 active, 12,886 recovered, 385 deaths
* Aklan had 10,165 total confirmed cases – 1,785 active, 8,205 recovered, 96 deaths
* Capiz had 5,838 total confirmed cases – 804 active, 4,822 recovered, 211 deaths
* Antique had 4,047 total confirmed cases – 922 active, 2,934 recovered, 119 deaths
* Guimaras had 1,380 total confirmed cases – 158 active, 1,188 recovered, 33 deaths
As to the healthcare utilization rate (HCUR), based on the data of DOH-6 as of Aug. 8, Iloilo City was classified as “high risk”. Out of its 107 COVID ward beds, 95 were occupied, and of the 150 ICU beds, 132 were occupied. The city also had 319 isolation beds, of which 182 were occupied.
Moreover, 55 of the city’s 83 mechanical ventilators were used.
Overall, Iloilo City’s HCUR was at 70.41 percent.
Meanwhile, Aklan and Guimaras were at “moderate risk” with 66.53 percent and 65.52 percent HCUR, respectively.
“Low risk” areas in terms of HCUR were Antique, Capiz, Iloilo province, Negros Occidental, and Bacolod City.
Earlier, Health undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said areas on Alert Level 4 were those with case count that were high and/or increasing plus high HCUR, regardless of the presence of the Delta variant.
For an area to be deemed under the highest level it must have a risk classification of “moderate” to “critical”, and more than 70 percent occupancy of its dedicated hospital beds for COVID-19 patients, regardless of Delta variant presence.
“We are in a crisis at kailangan po natin ng agarang desisyon at agarang aksyon galing sa gobyerno,” Vergeire said.
What are the possible interventions should an area be placed under Alert Level 4?
According to the DOH, action points could be:
* granular lockdowns
* active case finding (for areas with local Delta variant cases, rapid antigen test can be utilized)
* expand hospital bed capacity, especially intensive care unit (ICU) beds of levels 2 and 3 hospitals; oxygen needs must also be sufficient; severe and critical cases are also immediately and properly referred
ALERT LEVEL 3
For Alert Level 3, these areas are with high and/or increasing COVID-19 case count but increasing HCUR, regardless of the “Delta” presence.
It fulfills all the following conditions:
* risk classification ranges from “moderate” to “critical”
* less than or equal to 70 percent occupancy of its dedicated hospital beds for COVID-19 patients, regardless of Delta variant presence
ALERT LEVEL 2
Alert Level 2 is defined as areas with:
– case transmission is low and decreasing, low HCUR but with presence of the Delta variant; or
– case count is low but increasing; or
– case count is low and decreasing but HCUR is increasing
It fulfills any of the following conditions:
* “minimal” to “low” risk classification, with negative growth rate; COVID-19 bed and ICU utilization must be less than 50 percent; and with reported local Delta variant case/s; or
* “minimal” to “low” risk classification, with positive growth rate; or
* “minimal” to “low” risk, with negative growth rate and COVID-19 beds and ICU utilization must be greater than or equal to 50 percent
ALERT LEVEL 1
On the other hand, areas under Alert Level 1 are those with low and decreasing case transmission, low HCUR and no reported case of the Delta variant.
For an area to be classified under this level, it must fulfill all the following conditions:
* “minimal” to “low” risk, with negative growth rate
* COVID-19 bed utilization and ICU utilization must be less than 50 percent
* no local case of Delta variant detected
Here are other areas on Alert Level 4:
* Las Piñas, Malabon, Makati, Marikina, Muntinlupa, Navotas, San Juan, Pateros, Quezon City, Taguig and Valenzuela in the National Capital Region.
* Apayao, Baguio City, Benguet in Cordillera Administrative Region
* Dagupan City and Ilocos Norte in Region 1
* Cagayan and Quirino in Region 2
* Angeles City, Pampanga, Tarlac, and Nueva Ecija in Region 3
* Batangas, Cavite, Laguna, Quezon, Lucena City and Rizal in Region 4A
* Naga City and Masbate in Region 5
* Bohol, Cebu, Cebu City, Lapu-Lapu City and Siquijor in Region 7
* Ormoc and Tacloban City in Region 8
* Bukidnon, Cagayan de Oro City, Camiguin, Lanao Del Norte and Misamis Oriental in Region 10
* Cotabato (North Cotabato), General Santos City, South Cotabato in Region 12
* Agusal del Sur in Caraga Region./PN