MANILA - Some school buildings will be converted again as quarantine facilities as COVID-19 cases continue to rise in the country, the Department of Health said Monday.

"Pumayag na rin naman ang DepEd (Department of Education) na 'yong mga eskuwelahan dito sa iba't ibang local governments, bubuksan na uli para maging quarantine facility," Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a press briefing.

(The DepEd has agreed that schools in different localities would be opened again to be used as quarantine facility.)

Classes last year opened under a blended distance learning system due to the continuing threat of COVID-19.

Under the system, students receive lessons through printed or offline modules, online learning and television or radio-based instruction.

The DepEd has pushed for the resumption of limited face-to-face classes in areas with low risk of COVID-19 transmission but President Rodrigo Duterte rejected the proposal, saying it may place the children in jeopardy.

• Duterte rejects resumption of face-to-face classes anew

To decongest hospitals from COVID-19 admission, the DOH also said 257 beds for isolation will be added in several identified areas.

Triage of people with possible COVID-19 infection will also be put up in localities, the agency added.

"Ang nangyayari kasi ngayon, the public, 'pag nagkakasakit sila or 'di kaya ay na-expose, nagkakaroon ng fear, nagkakaroon ng panic. Dumidiretso agad sa hospital, which should not be the case," Vergeire said.

(What's happening now is when people get sick or exposed [to a COVID-19 patient], they develop fear and panic. They directly go to hospital, which should not be the case.)

Courtesy of DOH

As many hospitals are bursting at the seams with COVID-19 patients, those who are asymptomatic and with mild symptoms will be brought to isolation centers, the health official said.

The DOH will be distributing tents to 8 select hospitals to augment their capacity for coronavirus patients. It has also identified 4 hotels where health-care workers with COVID-19 could recuperate.

"All of these, we will be doing and facilitating this week para maibsan natin ang pagka-congest ng mga ospital natin sa ngayon," Vergeire said.

(All of these, we will be doing and facilitating this week to relieve the congestion in our hospitals.)

The Philippines is facing a new wave of COVID-19 infections amid the presence of more contagious coronavirus variants.

Most hospitals in Metro Manila have reported reaching full capacity, prompting them to seek help from the DOH.

A year into the pandemic, the country has so far logged over 795,051 coronavirus infections, of which 646,100 recovered while 13,425 died. The tally includes 135,526 active cases or patients deemed infectious.

The national government extended until April 11 the enhanced community quarantine, the country's strictest among 4 levels, in Metro Manila and the provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal following a sharp increase in coronavirus cases.

• IATF extends toughest lockdown level in NCR Plus for another week 'at least'