Mayor Maria Isabelle Climaco-Salazar ordered on Friday the increase from 700 to at least a thousand beds in the city-owned isolation facilities.

Salazar’s order came after the spike in coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases in the past several days.

As of Wednesday, the total confirmed cases here climbed to 5,510 with seven reinfections, according to the local Covid-19 data tracker.

The active cases have increased to 964 after 155 new cases were recorded in the same period, with one new Covid-19 related death. Total deaths since last year stood at 221.

Seventeen new recoveries were registered, increasing the recovered cases to 4,325.

Earlier this month, Salazar tasked the City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (CDRRMO) and the City Engineer’s Office (CEO) to renovate isolation facilities used last year.

Salazar has called on the residents to take the Covid-19 threat seriously, noting that the rising number of cases is “not a joke”.

Dr. Dulce Amor Miravite, city health officer, has also issued a warning that most hospitals here are already full for both Covid-19 and non-Covid-19 patients. (PNA)