PRC, NCR schools agree to install in-campus Covid isolation rooms
THE Philippine Red Cross (PRC) has finalized its plan to install isolation facilities at the Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU), University of the Philippines (UP), and De La Salle University (DLSU) campuses to help control the spread of Covid-19 infections.
“The general objective is to remove the asymptomatic spreader in a multi-generational household, or those families living with grandparents and little children, para maiwasang makapanghawa pa sila [to prevent transmission]. We will put them in isolation centers like in Ateneo, La Salle or UP starting this week so we can provide for them,” said PRC Chairman and CEO Sen. Richard J. Gordon.
“They will be taken care of,” Gordon stressed, assuring that these facilities will be equipped with showers and toilets. Food will also be served to the patients.
Likewise, Gordon said that the families of patients in isolation, especially those who are breadwinners in their families, would also be provided for with food assistance.
He said the PRC staff and volunteers are already converting 32 ADMU classrooms to isolation units.
“Ateneo President Fr. Roberto Yap even offered to fund raise among the Ateneo alumni to help support the facility, and I am more than grateful for their solidarity with our efforts,” he revealed.
UP Diliman, on the other hand, offered 96 dormitory rooms of its newly retrofitted Kamia Residence Hall, which the PRC has started provide with furniture for a maximum of three patients each.
The PRC is also making arrangements for patient monitoring via telemedicine with the help of the Philippine Medical Association and Philippine Nurses Association Inc., and for immediate ambulance service to nearby hospitals in case of emergencies.
“We are also reaching out to other universities and organizations within the Metro to help augment the resources of the local government units. Talaga namang kapag ang tao at ang lider ay nagsama-sama, lalabas ang tibay at galing natin laban sa pandemya [If we the leader and the citizens unite, we can show our strength and excellence in handling this pandemic],” Gordon said.