Mayor Sara Duterte said that two more facilities are being prepared to accommodate individuals with suspected COVID-19.
However, Duterte declined to disclose the location of these facilities to house persons under investigation (PUIs). But they will become the sixth and seventh centers being prepared by the local government in case of a surge.
“I have talked and reached out to certain people so that we can utilize more facilities to cater to PUI patients with mild symptoms,” she said.
Meanwhile, the Alternative Learning System (ALS) center will be utilized as the hub for COVID-19 positive patients who only have mild symptoms.
“Those, for example, have coughs, or colds and not critical positive patients, will be housed at ALS,” she said, adding that this will also decongest the Southern Philippines Medical Center, which will only treat severe to critical cases.
The three PUI centers that are now ready to accommodate patients are the rehabilitation center in Malagos with a maximum capacity of 28 patients, La Vida Inn in Ma-a with 26 available rooms, and the ALS center for COVID-19 positive patients with mild symptoms.
Duterte said that Queensland and the Bureau of Fire Protection are now undergoing construction and repair to be fully functional.
However, she admitted that the city lacks health workers to attend to the patients in these centers.
“We have called reserved health workers, but we do not impose on them. We understand that this is scary, others have anxiety, others are panicking. Those who want to volunteer only are welcome to serve. But we do with what we have right now,” she said.
