Half of beds in 3 remaining open BICs ‘empty’

ONLY three barangay isolation centers (BICs) in Cebu City are in operation.

They have a total bed capacity of 439 and only half are occupied by patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), said City Councilor Joel Garganera, deputy chief implementer of the Emergency Operations Center (EOC).

Based on the data of the EOC, as of Saturday, April 17, 2021, there are 234 beds available in the three BICs.

Garganera said the City temporarily closed two other BICs for disinfection and to fix their water supply.

On top of the five BICs, Garganera said there are five other BICs on standby, which are capable of accommodating more than 500 Covid-19 patients.

As of Saturday, there were 906 beds available in the City’s isolation facilities.

At the New Normal Oasis for Adaptation and a Home Complex, only 71 beds are occupied, while 379 are available. At the Cebu City Quarantine Center, 57 are occupied, while 103 are available. At isolation hotels, 106 are occupied, while 190 are available.

Meanwhile, the stay-at-home order during Sundays in Barangay Guadalupe was lifted, taking effect on April 18.

Guadalupe Barangay Captain Michael Gacasan said the drop in Covid-19 cases, prompted barangay officials to lift the order.

Gacasan said that as of April 17, the barangay only had 40 cases. They expect more recoveries in the next few days, he said.

However, he urged residents to continue staying at home if they have no important business to attend to outside.

He said checkpoints are still installed in some areas to ensure people wear face masks and face shields.

Guadalupe implemented the stay-at-home order during Sundays on Jan. 24.

Based on the EOC data on April 17, Cebu City had 804 active Covid-19 cases.

The city has since recorded 22,645 cases with 21,080 recoveries and 831 mortalities.

The total positivity rate in Cebu City is 9.57 percent out of the 236,513 individuals tested. /