330-bed complex opens for COVID patients at SRP

CEBU, Philippines — The New Normal Oasis for Adaption and a Home (NOAH Complex) at the South Road Properties in Cebu City is now operational.

The facility was originally targeted to open last June 16 but the scheduled opening was deferred to pave way for retrofitting to accommodate birthing and nursery for suspected or confirmed COVID-19 patients.

The opening came timely as the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) has called to take positive patients out of their homes for proper monitoring. The call was made by Interior Secretary Eduardo Año, who reinforced Task Force Cebu overseer Sec. Roy Cimatu’s suspicion that the spread is caused by the barangay isolation centers in the middle of the barangay itself.

The NOAH’s Complex has 330 beds for asymptomatic patients, plus 14 beds in the birthing area and nine for isolation in case a patient shows some symptoms and cannot be transferred to a Level 2 facility or hospital.

Año, in an interview with ABS-CBN, said he and his team will be back in Cebu tomorrow to find other areas for isolation.

Cimatu, along with its deputy implementer, retired Gen. Mel Feliciano, had already checked the complex and was amenable to the setup.

NOAH personnel underwent training and secured the go signal from the Department of Health.

The NOAH Complex is a brainchild of Vice Mayor Michael Rama and is supported by the members of the City Council, including those from the opposition.

Interestingly, the proposal to set up a quarantine center at the SRP was earlier rejected by Mayor Edgardo Labella, who said they have already been preparing an isolation/quarantine area in the Cebu City Medical Center and that the establishment of such is in coordination with the DOH with due consideration to the safeguards and coordination for proper administration and implementation of DOH protocols.

Labella was reportedly convinced that the same cannot be done at present time as such measures would be counter-intuitive along with other matters to consider.

After that, the city government began building the Cebu City Quarantine Center that took almost two months to complete, way behind the promised 10 days of completion.

Aside from the CCQC, there are also two other privately-funded infirmaries here -- the Bayanihan Center-SHS and IEC.

These three facilities are for Level 2 or mild to moderate cases of coronavirus.

Labella later gave the SRP facility a go signal after the number of cases increased here.

Former Cebu City councilor and now complex manager, lawyer Joy Pesquera, describes this as “home away from home” and not like a hospital setting.

The first to occupy it are PNP personnel who are down with the virus.

“Yes, for now, ang amo sang gidawat are from the PNP as we are still adjusting our system. We don’t want to be deluged with people na dili nato ma-handle,” said Pesquera.

The management will not accept walk-ins. Patients have to be endorsed by the City Health Department or its cluster clinics or the Covid Command Center or barangay health centers for proper turnover and documentation.

“Modawat pud mi nila only from 2 to 4 p.m. para makaandam pud mig provisions nila sa food since wala man mi among cooking facility diri and dili wala ta’y mapalita’g food diri basta kay layo baya mi,” Pesquerra added.  JMD (FREEMAN)