Baguio City Administrator Bonifacio Dela Peña bared that the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Mark Villar committed ₱12-million for the put up of additional isolation quarters for patients diagnosed with the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).
Of the amount, Dela Peña revealed, ₱8-million will be used for additional rooms while the remaining ₱4-million shall be earmarked for equipment to run the isolation facility.
The pledge comes in the heels of reports the country’s “isolation czar” himself tested positive for COVID-19 last July 15.
Despite health hitch, Villar apparently continued working from home to better prepare Baguio City in case the COVID-19 pace charts up in Northern Luzon.
Meantime, data from the City Health Services Office (CHSO) reveals, Baguio is below Department of Health (DOH) standards when it comes to COVID-19 beds-to-population ratio.
Baguio only has 45-beds at the former Sto. Niño Hospital, converted by the local government as isolation facility for COVID-19 patients.
The city is now looking at a 2-month period within which to complete additional isolation quarters in the same structure.
DOH however requires, the city should have at least 148-beds ready for use at any given time.
To bridge what is lacking, the city is currently working on the accreditation of additional rooms at the Baguio Teachers Camp, for the meantime.
The Baguio Teachers Camp has a current capacity of 130-beds for quarantine purposes of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs).
Dela Peña added that the city is considering conversion of additional rooms, the Baguio Teachers Camp good for additional 300-beds.
This will bring the city at par with DOH standards, he added.
Meanwhile, the City Administrator likewise revealed, there are already 12-individuals confined at the Sto. Niño Hospital. Eight are suspected to have COVID-9; four were found positive of the virus.
He said, the number is already near critical, considering DOH have set an alarm when a facility reaches 30-percent bed-occupancy.
Relatedly, Dela Peña disclosed, the city is also coordinating extension of the use of the Saint Vincent gymnasium as triage center up to mid-September. This, while a triage center at the Baguio Convention Center is in the works. Dexter A. See