Triaging of returning Baguio residents and potential visitors will be more convenient following the upcoming operation of the city’s centralized triage center at the Baguio Convention Center (BCC) by September 16, 2020.
City Administrator Bonifacio dela Peña said that the put up of the triage center is now on its finishing touches while the assigned personnel and units of equipment will be transferred from the Saint Vincent gymnasium to the new site this week.
He added that that new center will be operational 24 hours and will be fully lighted aside from having sufficient parking of motor vehicles and a wide waiting area.
Further, the city administrator disclosed that there will also be three triage booths that could accommodate nine individuals each apart from the triage personnel to ensure the strict observance of physical distancing while others will be waiting for their turns to undergo the required checkup.
In addition, he stated that the triage center for returning Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) at the Roxas Hall of the Baguio Teachers’ Camp has been transferred to the Benitez hall which is much spacious and with sufficient parking spaces not only for parking but also as waiting area for the individuals undergoing triage.
Mayor Benjamin B. Magalong said that the local government will be maintaining the operation of the two triage centers so that there will be an alternative triage center that could serve as back up once there will be overcrowding in either of the centers because of the influx of returning city residents, returning OFWs and potential visitors, especially when the city will be opening the registration for tourists from Region I by September 22, 2020.
He requested the City Health Services Office (CHSO) to work out the assignment of personnel who will be manning the triage centers to ensure smooth operation.
The local chief executive explained that the triage centers will serve as a venue for health professionals to assess the situation of certain individual whether or not people wanting to enter the city for various purposes will have to be tested for Corona Virus Disease (COVID) 2019 or be allowed to enter the city to purse and complete their desired transactions with the different public and private offices.
Adjacent the centralized triage center is a 16-bed isolation facility being constructed by the public works department that will cater to the needs of individuals who need to be immediately isolated upon the recommendation of health authorities manning the center to prevent them from joining the mainstream society as they might spread the virus to other innocent people.
The local government spent for the put up of the city’s centralized triage center while the public works department provided for the much-needed funds for the construction of the new isolation unit within the BCC grounds. (Dexter A. See)
(Photo courtesy by Neil Clark Ongchangco)