DPWH Sec. Villar: Bed occupancy in NCR isolation facilities now at 64.48%

Occupancy of beds in quarantine facilities in Metro Manila is now at 64.48% amid the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the region, isolation czar Public Works Secretary Mark Villar said.

In a statement issued Monday, Villar said that COVID-19 isolation beds nationwide are enough, as only 19,877 beds of the 131,517 total available isolation beds of existing Temporary Treatment and Monitoring Facilities nationwide are currently being used.

From this number, a total of 3,708 beds of the 5,751 beds in Metro Manila are occupied.

"This is the reason why we are doing our best to fast-track remaining ongoing quarantine facilities, especially within the NCR bubble,” Villar said.

Mega Temporary Treatment and Monitoring Facilities with high number of bed occupancy rates for COVID-19 patients include the PICC Quarantine Facility with 223 out of 263 total beds occupied, Ultra Stadium with 95 of 132 beds occupied, and Filinvest Tent with 74 of 108 beds occupied.

Villar said the Department of Social Welfare and Development is currently ramping up its efforts to provide additional treatment facilities in Metro Manila.

The DPWH Task Force to Facilitate Augmentation of Local/National Health Facilities, for instance, is currently supervising the building of modular hospitals within Quezon Institute and the National Kidney and Transplant Institute, he added.

On Sunday, the Philippines recorded 9,475 new COVID-19 infections, raising the total tally to 721,892.

This marks the third straight day when more than 9,000 new infections were reported. —KG, GMA News