By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

The utilization rate of hospital beds at the Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital (CLMMRH) in Bacolod City is already nearing full capacity.

Based on the hospital’s advisory issued late Friday night, their hospital bed utilization rate for non-Intensive Care Unit (ICU) COVID areas is now at 83.3 percent, while their ICU COVID beds have already hit 100 percent for the past seven days.

“Hence, the hospital reminds the public to strictly follow health protocols to avoid the further transmission of COVID-19,” the hospital management said.

The CLMMRH also announced they are closing the COVID Ward at the 4th floor of the West Tower Building. They explained the closure is to allow for repairs of the sanitary pipelines.

“Hence, the closure will affect the number of allocated functional beds of the hospital and acceptance of COVID-19 patients for admission,” they explained.

They further added safety and welfare of the patients and healthcare providers are the primary concerns of the hospital.

The CLMMRH also assured that they will reopen the dedicated area for COVID-19 patients as soon as all necessary repairs have been accomplished.

Based on data released by the Bacolod City Emergency Operations Center, Bacolod City currently has 1,895 active COVID-19 cases.

Negros Occidental, meanwhile, has posted 1,912 active COVID-19 cases based on the June 26 data from the Department of Health-Western Visayas./DGB, WDJ