The national government is increasing the number of contracted hotels to be used as isolation sites after the utilization rate of Temporary Treatment and Monitoring Facilities (TTMFs) reached almost 78 percent, a health official said Thursday.

Health Undersecretary and treatment czar Leopoldo Vega said there is an increase in the number of requests for isolation or quarantine facilities as coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases continue to rise in the past weeks.

“Iyong December kasi nasa 15 percent lang yata or mga less than 10 percent ng usage ng ating temporary treatment facilities. So, ang iba ho nito talagang nag-aano na, nag-defunctionalize (Last December, the usage of temporary treatment facilities is 15 percent or less than 10 percent. So, even some of them were defunctionalized),” he said during a televised public briefing.

He added the contracts of some hotels and facilities that have been commissioned as TTMFs ended last Dec. 31, 2021.

To provide appropriate isolation and quarantine areas for the healthcare workers and the general public, local government units are reactivating their TTMFs.

“Kasi ang utilization ng TTMFs ay nasa almost 78% na po. So, gradually itinataas din namin ang number of isolation and facilities para ho sa mga health care workers at saka sa general public (The utilization of TTMFs is almost 78 percent already. So, gradually we also increase the number of isolation and facilities for healthcare workers and for the general public),” Vega said.

On Thursday, the country logged all-time high of 34,021 new infections, bringing the nationwide total to 3,092,409 and the active cases to 237,387. (PNA)