Takeover sa hotels, dormitories isusulong (Para sa quarantine at isolation facilities)

SASAKUPIN ng gobyerno ang mga hotel at dormitory sa bansa para gawing quarantine at isolation facilities upang matugunan ang kakulangan ng pasilidad sa patuloy na paglobo ng kaso ng CoVid-19 sa bansa.

Inamin ni Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque na kulang ang mga itinakdang We Heal As One centers at Ligtas Centers ng mga lokal na pamahalaan at maging ang mga paaralan para pagdalhan ng CoVid-positive.

“We concede that we probably will not have enough for the time being, although we built quite a number of We Heal As One centers as well as Ligtas centers maintained by the local government units,” aniya.

Kapag umabot aniya sa 4,000 ng CoVid-19 active cases sa isang araw, ibig sabihin ay kailangan mag-trace at isolate ng 10 sa kanilang close contact kaya’t aabot sa 40,000 katao.

“In addition to public schools, we’re actually booking every hotel room that we can because tourism is not allowed anyway due to GCQ (general community quarantine) so we’re going to commandeer almost all of the hospital beds available going beyond – not hospital beds but hotel beds,” paliwanag ni Roque.

“We’re also going beyond hotel beds, we’re going to commandeer as well dormitories that are available, everything and anything we can use for isolation purposes without having to build new ones,” giit niya.

Plano ng pamahalaan na gawin din quarantine at isolation facilities ang ilang public schools at iba pang gusali ngunit hindi mabilisan itong magagawa.

Kailangan aniyang hintayin na maipasa ang Bayanihan 2 Act dahil may gastos kapag ipinaayos ang public schools.

“But the good thing with the public schools, we don’t have to build structures. We just have to buy beds, linens, and provide for kitchens for these public schools when we use them as isolation centers,” sabi ni Roque.

Ang mega drug rehabilitation center sa Fort Magsaysay sa Nueva Ecija ay gagawin din aniyang quarantine facility.

“So the effort now is really to improve our capacity for tracing and because we have improved tracing now, we need more isolation facilities and that’s what the reboot is all about,” sabi ni Roque.

Nagpasalamat si Roque sa tulong ng pribadong sector sa pagtatayo ng mga estrukturang pansamantalang ginagamit na pasilidad.

Matatandaan, matapos ang tatlong buwang nararanasan sa bansa ang pandemya ay saka lamang nagpasya ang pamahalaan na hindi uubra ang home quarantine para sugpuin ang paglaganap ng CoVid-19.

“We realize that there is no other alternative but to subject to institutional isolation even the close contacts of those who have tested positive,” ayon kay Roque.

“And one thing going for us is of course we now have the capacity to conduct tests on more than 32,000 individuals so all those who had close contacts with the positive can also be subject to testing now,” sabi niya.

Umabot na sa 164,474 ang kaso ng CoVid-19 sa Filipinas at 112,759 rito ang naka-recover at 2,681 ang nasawi. (ROSE NOVENARIO)