The Armed Forces of the Philippines headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City has been locked down since 8 a.m. yesterday as part of efforts to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).
“I confirm that Camp Aguinaldo has been locked down since 8 o’clock in the morning today, 21 March 2021,” AFP spokesperson Maj. Gen. Edgard Arevalo said in a message to reporters.
The preemptive measure, as ordered by Chief of Staff Gen. Cirilito Sobejana, seeks to arrest the alarming and fast-growing number of Covid-19 infections, he added.
“Details and updates to follow,” Arevalo added.
The AFP has yet to release the number of Covid-19 infections in the camp.
The Department of Health yesterday reported 7,757 new confirmed cases and 39 new deaths while 15,288 more patients recovered from Covid-19.
Meanwhile, the national government is urging public and private hospitals to increase the number of dedicated beds for Covid-19 patients under a new resolution drafted by the government’s pandemic response managers.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque made the appeal after health authorities said the occupancy of intensive-care beds for Covid-19 in Metro Manila hospitals was “alarming” following a spike in Covid-19 cases in the region.
The OCTA research group earlier warned that Metro Manila hospitals could hit 100 percent capacity by the first week of April if the surge is not controlled.
Roque said hospitals in the private sector must raise their health system capacity to care for Covid-19 patients to 30 percent while public sector must raise the capacity to 50 percent.
The IATF-EID resolution also directs concerned agencies to ensure appropriate patient care navigation through the use of One Hospital Command Center , Oplan Kalinga, and local government unit call centers with referral of mild and moderate cases to available temporary treatment and monitoring facilities.*PNA
