Mayor: New quarantine facilities ready in 10 days

CEBU, Philippines —  The Cebu City government is now working on a new quarantine facility at the North Reclamation Area that can accommodate around 200 to 300 people.

Mayor Edgardo Labella said the new facility located at Block 27 is expected to be ready in about a week to 10 days from now.

“Gusto nako ipahibalo ninyo duna nay area gisugdan na og trabaho it can accommodate between 200 to 300 people in case. That would be in addition sa atong gi fast-track na ang CCMC na maka accommodate og additional 200,” said Labella.

He said they are also fast-tracking the construction of Cebu City Medical Center (CCMC) so it can also be used as a quarantine area. Labella said the two floors of the hospital, which can accommodate 200 beds, will be ready in two weeks.

“So gi-andam na na nato. Fast-track gyud para magamit na when the need arises. Di ta mag-expect nga daghan, but it’s better to be prepared. We should always be ready,” said Labella.

He said the new quarantine facility at NRA would be ready in a week to 10 days while the CCMC will be completed in two weeks’ time.

Recently, three hotels in Cebu have agreed to serve as quarantine facilities for incoming tourists amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia issued Executive Order 5-J last March 15, including all passengers from international flights to Cebu under the mandatory 14-day quarantine.

Under the mandatory quarantine, passengers will not be allowed to leave their hotel rooms. The hotels, along with the Cebu provincial government, are now working out the rates per person.

Garcia stressed that passengers will be subject to the quarantine as a preventive measure and they should not be seen as confirmed cases.

To recall, some Cebu City councilors have requested Labella to set up quarantine centers at the South Road Properties (SRP).

 Councilors Nestor Archival, Eugenio Gabuya Jr., Joy Augustus Young, Raul Alcoseba, Alvin Dizon, Lea Japson, Franklyn Ong, and Jessica Resch asked the city government to use several hectares of lots at the SRP as quarantine area for persons under investigation (PUIs) and persons under monitoring (PUMs) for COVID-19.

In their letter dated March 15, 2020, they suggested to Labella that the city can use existing open style tents to hold and contain PUIs and PUMs.

“This will free up space for our overly-burdened hospitals, so the hospitals can treat the patients with the worst cases. This action can save lives,” read a portion of the letter.  FPL (FREEMAN)