MANILA - The intensive care unit of the country's largest COVID-19 referral center is full as of Tuesday morning, its spokesperson said as Metro Manila imposed a 2-week curfew to curb virus spread.

Some 156 out of 180 beds, or 86.66 percent, of the Philippine General Hospital for virus patients are occupied, said its spokesperson Jonas del Rosario. Around 10 more COVID-19 patients are waiting to be admitted, he added.

"We only have 30 beds for our ICU and it’s full. This morning it’s full," he told ANC's Headstart.

"We opened 180 beds, this would be almost 30 percent of our current bed capacity which is pretty much the maximum that we are willing to commit to government because we also have a lot of non-COVID patients we have to attend to."

Of the 157 virus patients, 40 percent have a moderate case of the disease, 25 percent are severe, and 20 percent are critical, and the rest are mild, Del Rosario said.

The hospital appealed to the Department of Health to deploy volunteer healthworkers as cases again rise in the capital region.

"Maybe 20 to 30 will be a good start just to relieve our frontliners. They get tired after a while. According to the ICU doctor, he can sense again fatigue from the trainees," Del Rosario said.

The PGH on March 30 will commemorate its first year of being a COVID-19 referral center, the spokesman said.

• LOOK: UP-PGH launches COVID-19 operations center

"My appeal to mga kababayan natin, just stay at home if you do not really need to go out because medyo mataas po ang transmission (virus transmission is high) out there," he said.

"I think when we’re really overwhelmed--we’re not yet in that stage. We have to think and see, maybe just a reset. It’s really hard to go back on total lockdown," he added when asked if Metro Manila should enforce a lockdown.

Several Metro Manila hospitals reported that they have reached full capacity as cases continued to rise in the region, which has since implemented a 2-week curfew to curb virus spread.

• COVID-19 cases rising: More NCR hospitals on full capacity 'just like last year'

The Philippines on Monday recorded 5,404 new coronavirus infections, the fourth highest reported in a day since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak in the country, raising the total number of cases to 626,893.

• PH logs 5,404 new COVID-19 cases, 4th highest since pandemic started

It began its immunization drive against the coronavirus on March 1, with PGH chief Dr. Gerardo Legaspi the first to receive the Sinovac jab.

• PGH Director receives first authorized COVID-19 vaccine in PH

Watch more in iWantv or TFC.tv