The Department of Health (DOH) has told public and private hospitals to make more space for COVID-19 patients to avoid being overwhelmed as coronavirus infections increase, particularly in Metro Manila. “We have to start to recover these beds so that we can prepare the hospitals for more COVID patients coming in,” he added. The allocation was later increased to 20 percent in private hospitals and 33 to 35 percent in public hospitals. Health officials say the more contagious variants of the coronavirus are not driving the spike in cases, but rather people’s abandonment of public health measures. But Duque said people must still strictly comply with public health measures, as achieving herd immunity was a long way off.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer March 11, 2021 21:33 UTC