2 isolation centers in Mandaue to operate before September

TWO new isolation centers that are being constructed in Mandaue City could start accepting Covid-19 patients before September.

In a news briefing organized by the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO), Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes said their isolation centers being constructed at the Norkis Park in Barangay Looc and at the Cebu North Bus Terminal in Barangay Subangdaku can accomodate 50 patients each once they are fully operational.

Both facilities can also accomodate around 300 patients if needed, Cortes added.

Cortes said they are preparing the two facilities after the Regional Inter-Agency Task Force announced it will only allow the use of public schools as isolation centers until Aug. 15, 2020.

The Mandaue City government will provide free internet connection to both facilities to keep patients busy and it will also have its own CCTV cameras to help doctors monitor their patients without the need to physically inspect them.

Panic buttons are also placed in the patients’ room to alert medical personnel in the facility if there are emergencies.

The same amenities are not only for the isolation center of Norkis Park and CNBT but they are also available even in public schools in the city that have been turned into isolation centers, Cortes added.

Lawyer John Eddu Ibañez, Cortes’ executive secretary, said they have requested the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to complete the two facilities within this month.

Ibañez said they have prioritized the construction of the isolation facility at the Cebu North Bus Terminal as it will cater to Covid-19 patients with mild and moderate symptoms.

Covid-19 patients who are not showing symptoms will be placed at the isolation facility in Norkis Park.

While the two facilities are still being constructed, the City is still continuing to use five public schools, namely the Mandaue City Central School, Opao Elementary School, Paknaan Elementary School, Subangdaku Elementary School and Cabancalan Elementary School.

Meanwhile, the Inter-Agency Task Force has allowed towns under Cebu Province to use some of their public school buildings as temporary isolation centers while classes have not yet started.

This, after the League of Municpalities in the Philippines (LMP) Cebu chapter requested the Department of Education to allow them to use public school facilities as isolation centers due to the increasing number of Covid-19 cases in some Cebu towns.

Liloan Mayor Christina Garcia-Frasco, LMP-Cebu chapter president, assured that not all of their public schools will be used as isolation centers as they also recognize that the teachers will be needing some of their classrooms once classes start this month.