Crame gym, tennis court now quarantine centers

The Philippine National Police (PNP) has opened up its sports facilities at Camp Crame as COVID-19 quarantine centers as the number of active cases reached 1,951 yesterday.

Apart from the 55-bed Kiangan Billeting Center, PNP chief Gen. Debold Sinas said the camp’s taekwondo gym and tennis court were converted into temporary isolation facilities for asymptomatic patients, with 40 and 57 beds respectively.

Sinas issued the statement as he debunked a television report over GMA News on Friday, with a video showing the poor conditions of police officers infected with COVID-19 quarantined at Camp Crame.

In the video, PNP personnel were seen crammed together by the poolside along with makeshift tents, folding beds or blankets. Physical distancing protocols could no longer be observed as the place was congested.

According to Sinas, the area with an 80bed capacity is a temporary holding area or triage where patients are assessed by their physicians to determine the further medical interventions needed.

“It is not true and totally unfair to speculate that our policemen are not being taken care of,” he said.

Sinas said the Kiangan building, the primary quarantine facility in Camp Crame, was swamped by infected PNP personnel, some of whom even brought members of their families who are likewise positive for the virus.

“There were also members of LGUs (local government units) who also took advantage of the facility for assessment of their conditions,” he said.

Sinas himself stayed at the Kiangan building for two weeks where he completed his quarantine after he was infected with COVID-19. Asymptomatic patients and those with symptoms are immediately assigned to different quarantine facilities in Metro Manila and nearby provinces in Luzon.

PNP deputy chief for administration Lt. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar said the conditions that were seen in the video happened in the week they recorded unprecedented numbers of COVID-19 cases, but he clarified adjustments have been made.

“Measures were immediately undertaken during that time to provide the medical needs of our personnel such as deployment of more PNP medical and health care workers at Kiangan,” he said.

The PNP said 316 more personnel contracted COVID-19 based on its latest report released yesterday, bringing the number of active cases in the police force to 1,951.

Eleazar said 101 of the patients are assigned in Metro Manila, including 12 at Camp Crame.

A total of 134 patients are from administrative and operational support units of the PNP while 81 are assigned in police regional offices across the country.

Since last year, at least 14,110 PNP members have contracted COVID-19. Thirty-six died while 12,123 or 85.91 percent of the patients have recovered.