Philippines Department of Health (DOH) in its statement said on Wednesday that the country reported 9,227 fresh Covid cases, pushing the tally to 962,307. As many as 124 more patients have succumbed to the virus, taking the toll to 16,265.

The Philippines government announced that it is building a 336-bed “mega field hospital that will cater to mild and moderate Covid-19 patients” in the capital city Manila. The new hospital will be completed in about 60 days.

Carlito Galvez, the chief implementer of the government’s measures to combat the Covid-19, said the hospital “will complement the government’s effort to increase the hospital bed capacity for moderate and severe cases and prepare the country for the long haul.”

Manila City Mayor Francisco Domagoso said the city also plans to build an “intensive care unit-like” facility with a 60-bed capacity to address the medical needs of severe and critical cases. Metro Manila, home to nearly 14 million people, is still the epicentre of the outbreak, with the most active and new cases.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said that the health care utilisation rate or the number of intensive care units (ICU), isolation beds, and ventilators in Metro Manila and adjacent regions are “at moderate to high risk.”

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