CEBU, Philippines — The Department of Health-7 has discouraged the use of schools as isolation centers for COVID-19-infected individuals and instead advised that patients be brought to DOH and PhilHealth-accredited facilities.
The flattened curve of cases and high recovery rate in Cebu City were among the factors DOH-7 considered in doing away with the practice of the city government to use schools as BICS.
“In line with the (low) utilization and with the overall goal of providing strict isolation and monitoring, the DOH-7 discourages the use of schools as isolation center with designated facilities ready for strict isolation and monitoring are available for use,” said DOH-7 Director Dr. Jaime Bernadas in an advisory.
Bernadas also said the presence of a dedicated manpower in these facilities will also free the community health workers manning converted schools into isolation units.
Instead, those health workers may be tapped in contact tracing, he added.
Cebu City earlier used 53 schools as barangay isolation centers, mainly for housing asymptomatic patients of COVID-19.
From 53, the Emergency Operations Center trimmed it down to only four, two each for the two districts plus two more reserved schools for the returning locally stranded individuals required to undergo the 14-day quarantine, especially those who have no means to shoulder the cost nor have suitable place at home for isolation.
Low utilization
In DOH’s September 8 data, there were only 73 admitted patients at hospitals and 272 in isolation out of the 345 active cases in Cebu City.
There are four DOH and PhilHealth-accredited temporary treatment and facilities in the city, including the two DOH bayanihan centers, the NOAH Complex at the South Road Properties and the Cebu City Quarantine Center at the North Reclamation area.
All four have a combined bed capacity of 658 beds, and more than half of this number, according to Bernadas, is not utilized.
At the two DOH bayanihan centers alone, only four patients are currently admitted, two each at the one in Sacred Heart School for Boys and the IEC 3 in Mabolo.
At NOAH Complex, there are only 60 admissions at the moment, according to the complex’s assistant manager and Councilor Donaldo Hontiveros.
The NOAH Complex, which is meant for asymptomatic patients, has over 300 beds plus a birthing area for the COVID-19 patients.
The CCQC, on the other hand, has been expanded and improved to be a hospital-level facility. b