Gov't structures converted into quarantine facilities to be functional before mid-April - Nograles
Government establishments, which could accommodate up to nearly 2,000 individuals, in Metro Manila will be fully functional as quarantine facilities before the middle of this month, an official said on Thursday.
Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases spokesperson and Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said the government is converting the Philippine International Convention Center, World Trade Center and Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in fully-functional quarantine facilities amid the coronavirus disease crisis.
He said the PICC, which will have 700 beds, will be ready by April 10. The Department of Public Works and Highways and EEI Corp. are preparing the establishment located in Pasay City.
"The Rizal Memorial Sports Complex being readied by PRIME - BMD or Razon Group will be ready by April 10 as well, and will be able to house 600 beds," Nograles said.
The WTC, which could accommodate 650 individuals, on the other hand, could be used by April 12, he said. The structure, also in Pasay City, is being set up by ICCP and Ayala or Makati Development Corp.
"Together, these three structures can accommodate a total of 1,950 individuals," the IATF spokesman said.
He said other national and local government establishments are also being eyed to be converted into quarantine facilities in the country.
Nograles said the New Clark City Athlete’s Village in Capas, Tarlac shall continue to be a temporary quarantine facility.
Despite previous opposition by the local government, the Athlete's Village was used to house the repatriated Filipinos from Wuhan, which became the epicenter of COVID-19 outbreak, in China, and those who boarded the Diamond Princess cruise ship which docked in Yokohama, Japan.
Nograles said the IATF has also approved the Interim Guidelines on the Repatriation of Overseas Filipinos Working in Cruise Ships as proposed by the Department of Health.
"Without prejudice to the subsequent approval, amendment, or modification by the IATF, the Bureau of Quarantine is likewise directed to update the existing algorithm for the triage of patients with possible COVID-19 infection in ports of entry, which shall apply to land-based Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) who may be repatriated through the efforts of the national government," he said.
The official said the local government units are also strongly enjoined to allow the "unhampered transit" of OFWs who have been issued the DOH or LGU certificate of completion of 14-day facility-based quarantine, or those who may be required by the DOH or LGUs to undergo a mandatory 14-day home quarantine. Celerina Monte/DMS
