DPWH aims to set up over 800 more quarantine facilities

The Department Public Works and Highways (DPWH) on Monday night aims to build 816 quarantine facilities by next month for COVID-19 patients amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a briefing with President Rodrigo Duterte and several Cabinet officials, Public Works Secretary Mark Villar said the construction of the new quarantine facilities will result in additional 27,262 bed capacities.

Villar said the DPWH already finished 187 evacuation centers across the country, which are currently being used as quarantine centers.

The country has so far recorded 945,745 COVID-19 cases with 141,375 active cases, 788,322 recoveries, and 16,048 deaths.

Data from the Department of Health showed that 66% of the country’s intensive care unit beds and 47% of the mechanical ventilators are utilized.

The country continues to battle a surge in COVID-19 cases, which health authorities have attributed to the new variants, increased mobility, and relaxed adherence to health protocols. -- BAP, GMA News