New COVID facility opens

CEBU, Philippines —  The second Bayanihan Cebu Field Center, an isolation and treatment facility at the International Eucharistic Congress Convention Center (IC3) in Cebu City, has officially opened yesterday.

The center is aimed at beefing up Cebu’s capacity to handle COVID-19 patients with mild to moderate symptoms.

This developed as Cebu is poised to reopen businesses in a bid to recover its economy.

Dr. Jaime Bernadas, Department of Health in Central Visayas (DOH-7) regional director, said the health sector has already increased its capacity to test for COVID-19 with the establishment of three molecular laboratories in Cebu.

“The new challenge now is isolating and ensuring (that) the capacity of the health system would not be overwhelmed,” Bernadas said in a statement released by the Office of the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas (OPAV).

"As we embark on the new normal, we all need more facilities for possible increase in cases,” he added.

Set up by DOH-7 in partnership with the Archdiocese of Cebu and OPAV, the said facility can handle approximately 230 cases.

The first facility, the Bayanihan Cebu Field Center-SHS, was recently established by the DOH-7 in partnership with Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu and OPAV. It could accommodate 50 COVID-19 patients and is managed as an infirmary.

The two Bayanihan Cebu Field Centers have enclosed, fully air-conditioned shelter bays that have negative air pressure facilities equipped with medical grade high efficiency particle arresting (HEPA).

OPAV said the negative air pressure is a technique used by hospitals to prevent cross-contamination by allowing the air to flow through the HEPA filters before escaping the enclosed fully air-conditioned facility. This ensures the safety of the frontliners, staff and the neighboring communities.

Another facility, the Cebu City Quarantine Center, is also being set up by the Cebu City government at the North Reclamation Area in Cebu City.

The 150 to 200-bed facility will also have negative pressure rooms and filters. It can serve to isolate and treat confirmed cases with moderate symptoms.

Bernadas said it could also be used as a step-down facility from Level 2 or 3 health facilities for those severe cases that have recovered but are still not laboratory negative.

“This way hospitals can clear beds for other patients with severe symptoms,” said Bernadas.

Meanwhile, the results of the recently conducted targeted randomized community testing in the cities of Cebu, Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu have yet to be released.

“But whatever it (the findings) might be, the DOH CVCHD is confident that the City of Cebu is ready and will be up to the challenge through the Cebu City Quarantine Facility,” Bernadas said.  KQD (FREEMAN)