The House of Representatives has declared work suspension until Wednesday amid the upsurge of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) cases in the country, particularly in the National Capital Region.

In a memorandum issued on Monday, House Secretary General Mark Mendoza said some offices, however, shall observe a rotating skeleton workforce during the said suspension to ensure continuity of basic services.

These include the Office of the Secretary General, Office of the Sergeant at Arms – Legislative Security Bureau, Finance Department, and the Engineering Department.

Plenary sessions will resume on Thursday at 9 a.m.

Speaker Lord Allan Velasco has urged public to follow the advice of health authorities to stay at home as the Philippines recorded skyrocketing spikes in cases in the last few days.

Velasco said people should avoid non-essential travel and strictly observe health protocols even in their own homes.

“With new Covid-19 cases reaching record highs, we must at all times heed the stay-at-home advice of our health authorities. This way, we are not only helping curb the spread of the virus but more importantly we are saving lives,” Velasco said.

Velasco lamented that one year into the pandemic, medical front-liners remain under enormous pressure to save lives and curb the spread of Covid-19 while many seemed to have dropped their guard in the fight against the deadly disease.

“Our health care workers are exhausted and our healthcare systems will be again overwhelmed if we continue to sidestep health and safety protocols, individually and collectively. We must never let our guard down,” Velasco said.

In its 4 p.m. case bulletin on Monday, the Department of Health (DOH) reported 8,019 new confirmed Covid-19 cases and four new deaths.

These figures brought the overall tally of active cases to 80,970 and the death toll to 12,972.

Meanwhile, the country’s total number of recoveries from Covid 19 is now at 577,850, as 103 more patients beat the disease. (PNA)