COVID-19 Soars, Hospitals In The Philippines Increase Bed Capacity And Medical Personnel

JAKARTA - Hospitals in and around the capital Manila have been ordered to increase beds and medical resources after the Philippines recorded another record COVID-19 infection.

A top local government official quoted by Reuters via Antara said that nearly 60 percent of the 28.707 cases that emerged were recorded in the national capital region.

Manila in recent days has seen an increase in the number of people being hospitalized. However, the capacity of hospitals in the region is still below a critical level.

Health agencies are also being directed to increase vaccination rates outside the capital areas where vaccination rates are lagging, said the acting presidential spokesman, Karlo Nograles.

Another 15 people died from COVID-19, the health ministry said in a bulletin, bringing the total death toll to 52.150.

Since the outbreak of the pandemic, the Philippines has reported a total of more than 2.96 million cases, one of the highest in Southeast Asia.

Government offices, including the Senate, House of Representatives, and the Presidential Communications Operations Office, have announced temporary closures as a precautionary measure after several staff members became infected.

The increase in COVID-19 cases prompted the government last week to tighten the movement of people.

President Rodrigo Duterte has threatened unvaccinated people that they would be arrested for violating stay-at-home orders.

Under current regulations, people who are not vaccinated in the capital area are only allowed to leave their homes if there is an urgent need.

Late last year, 45 percent of the Philippines' 110 million people were fully vaccinated.