Ninoy Stadium ready to accept COVID-19 patients

MANILA, Philippines – Converted from a sports venue into a quarantine facility in a week’s time, the Ninoy Aquino Stadium inside the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Malate, Manila is now ready to accept patients with COVID-19.

The country has confirmed 3,870 cases of the coronavirus with 182 deaths while 96 patients have recovered with the government forced to tap the sports venues plus a number of convention centers, which hosted events in the last SEA Games, to accommodate the growing number of patients, PUIs and PUMs in the metropolis.

The President has extended the lockdown to April 30 to curb the spread of the virus.

Funded by Bloomberry Cultural Foundation, Inc., the social responsibility arm of Bloomberry Resorts Corp., the NAS project responds to the dire need to alleviate the burden of healthcare institutions from the COVID-19 pandemic and save more lives.   

Phase 1 construction started last April 1 by Prime BMD, a construction firm under the Razon Group of Companies.  This includes 116 beds for patients, two nurses’ stations, drywall partition wall, installation of the temporary furniture, and conversion of the facility common areas in the existing NAS. 

“We feel that it is our duty to provide as much support as possible to the interagency task force and to the Filipinos to respond to this crisis,” said port and casino magnate Ricky Razon.

Phase 2 of the project started last Wednesday (April 8), including additional 108 beds for patients at the RMSC, which is expected to be completed by the end of next week. 

The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases and the Department of Health have also tapped the PICC, the World Trade Center, the ASEAN Convention Center in Pampanga, the New Clark City in Tarlac as quarantine facilities for patients with mild or no symptoms of the respiratory disease.

Other venues to be converted into quarantine facilities are the PhilSports Arena in Pasig, the Filinvest Tent in Alabang and the Philippine Arena in Bulacan, which could accommodate more than 2,000 patients.