After two years, a hotel in Valenzuela City is now back to its normal lodging operations after it was leased out by the local government to serve as an isolation unit for frontline workers since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Valenzuela City Mayor Rex Gatchalian on Thursday thanked the Meaco Royal Hotel for primarily accommodating frontliners, including himself, when the country was battling high coronavirus cases.
“Today is something of a special moment for me and the city. Quietly, we returned Meaco Royal Hotel to its owners na,” he wrote on a Facebook post.
“For more than 2 years, this entire hotel was leased out by the City Government to serve as an isolation unit primarily for our frontline workers who contracted Covid and that includes government workers like myself last January,” the city chief added.
“I can still remember in the midst of the chaos of Covid when it started, I spoke to the owners of the hotel and told them we will lease the hotel, ‘yung buong hotel, for 1 month lang, little did I imagine na aabot pala ng lagpas 2 years ang lease na ‘yun,” Gatchalian continued.
He thanked the hotel for “answering to the call of the times” and for graciously giving the city “control of your hotel in the darkest times of Covid when we were all in panic and despair.”
“Meaco in one way or another gave all of us shelter during those times. Goodbye, Meaco!!! We’ll check in again but this time, for happier reasons,” the city mayor said.
“Again, to the owners of the hotel, salamat!! Tandang tanda ko pa, marami akong personal na tinawagan, halos lahat sila tinabla ako to use their facility for Isolation. Meaco, Spero, Paradise and Pisces ang mga tumugon at tumulong. Massive discounts ang binigay din nila sa atin. They provided shelter to the sick. Clearly, they are the most accommodating hospitality facility in the city,” he added.
Gatchalian accompanied his post with pictures of the city’s turnover to the owners, in which he held a symbolic key bearing the hotel’s name.
The official page of Valenzuela likewise thanked the hotel owners for their generosity.
“As part of our swift response to the pandemic, the City Government of Valenzuela rented the Meaco Royal Hotel to serve and accommodate our hardworking frontliners. It was also used as an isolation facility later on,” it said.
“Two years after, as COVID-19 cases continue to decrease, we are finally giving it back to the management of the hotel. To the management of Meaco Royal Hotel, salamat at mabuhay po kayo!” it added.
Decrease in coronavirus cases
COVID-19 cases in the country have been declining following the Omicron variant surge last January.
According to Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire, the daily number of infections would remain below 1,000 by the end of April despite the relaxed mobility restrictions.
She said that based on their projections, the country will be expected to log 268 new cases a day at its highest, and only 78 at its lowest.
Vergeire said that the projection will depend on the continuous compliance with minimum health protocols and if there were no new variants to enter the country.
Yesterday, data analytics head Edson Guido noted that the country has logged less than 400 new cases for the fifth consecutive day.
He also said that the active COVID-19 cases have dropped below 40,000 and are at its lowest since January 4.
