The request to convert hotels as quarantine facilities as a move to decongest Metro Manila hospitals may not be granted as accommodations are already at full capacity, according to a report of ABS CBN News.
Earlier, the Philippine College of Physicians recommended to the government to tap hotels as quarantine facilities and repurposed medical facility to ease the bottleneck in hospitals.
Philippine Hotel Owners Association Arthur Lopez told the report that they support the appeal of health workers. However, most hotels are currently operating under full capacity, serving returning overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).
“The bad news is we’re all fully-booked, we cannot give any more facilities to the request of this physicians’ group,” said Lopez.
In fact, he said, the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration is looking for additional accommodations for returning migrant workers.
“The majority of our hotels, these are all OWWA OFW hotels, kulang pa nga (it’s not enough).”
Some hospitals in Metro Manila and adjacent provinces have declared full capacity, prompting the government to build modular isolation and quarantine facilities.
According to data from the Department of Health (DOH), around 47 of 154 hospitals in the National Capital Region (NCR) have been placed under critical status due to the number of occupied bed for COVID-19 patients. Another 23 were deemed at high-risk status.
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