MANILA - The Department of Tourism said Tuesday it commended some 24 hotels in Metro Manila, the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) and Regions IV-A and XI for repurposing their accommodations as isolation facilities.

These hotels provide a total of 2,442 rooms repurposed as isolation facilities under the Oplan Kalinga program, the DOT said in a statement.

"The DOT is grateful for the hotel industry’s continued support in repurposing their accommodations into quarantine facilities for local residents undergoing mandatory quarantine, returning overseas Filipino workers and overseas Filipinos," the statement said.

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, hotels and other similar establishments have provided shelter for frontliners, and Business Process Outsourcing employees, among others.

Other primary and secondary tourism establishments within the NCR Plus areas were also directed to comply with the DOT Advisory No. 2 2021 on the Extension of the effectivity of DOT Advisory 2021-01: Providing the Interim Operational Guidelines for Accommodation Establishments.

The extension of the operational guideline for the use of accommodation as isolation facilities was issued after Metro Manila, Cavite, Laguna, Rizal and Bulacan were placed under ECQ until April 10.

"The advisory continues to be in effect with the extension of ECQ for another week," the DOT said.

Aside from hotels, other businesses and establishments have contributed to the increase in the government's isolation facilities. Logistics firm 2GO earlier converted ships into quarantine facilities for arriving OFWs.

The Philippines' total COVID-19 cases reached 803,398 on Monday.

• 2GO to turn passenger vessels into quarantine ships, says DOTr
• 40-bed COVID-19 isolation facility, itinayo sa Batangas City

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