Quezon City barangays put up quarantine facilities

MANILA, Philippines — More than half of the barangays in Quezon City have put up their respective isolation centers to support efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19, Mayor Joy Belmonte said yesterday.

She said 82 out of 142 barangays in the city have put up dedicated quarantine facilities for suspected or confirmed COVID-19 cases in their respective jurisdictions.

This translates to a total of 860 beds that complement the 2,000-bed capacity of the HOPE quarantine facilities operated by the city government.

“We expect this number to increase because other barangays are also in the process of putting up their facilities,” she said.

The isolation centers established by barangays are located in city- or barangay-owned buildings.

For those that do not have buildings that may be used as quarantine centers, Quezon City COVID-19 Task Force head Joseph Juico said they are looking at asking nearby barangays to assist them.

“Some barangays that do not have any buildings due to their size will be provided with beds in nearby communities,” he said.

“They can also bring their patients to any of our HOPE Community Caring Facilities, which now have more than 2,000 beds for patients,” he added.

Juico said doctors from the city health department will regularly visit barangay isolation facilities to ensure the wellbeing of the patients.

Belmonte earlier urged the Department of Interior and Local Government to adopt the initiative, saying people are more willing to be isolated when they are near their families.

She also highlighted the need to intensify the isolation of suspected and confirmed cases, noting the risk of transmission among those who live in the same household.

“There have been reports that household infection is continuously growing due to the fact that some family members have resumed work,” said the mayor.

“We request that they limit physical affection such as hugs, cuddles and kisses for the meantime,” she added.

As of Friday, the city has reported a total of 12,695 cases, 2,347 of them active. There were 9,910 recoveries and 438 deaths.