Meanwhile, Makati City said it has converted a hotel into an isolation facility for PUIs and is now ready to accommodate them.
Moreno said this is a “fallback” in the event the number of COVID-19 cases in the country’s capital continue to rise. He added this will augment the quarantine sites they have as the city is also turning evacuation centers into quarantine facilities.
Mayor Abby Binay said the Makati Friendship Suites in Barangay Cembo could house 100 individuals and would be under the supervision of doctors and nurses of the Ospital ng Makati.
The mayor also said they are also considering turning Sta. Ana Hospital into a COVID-19 referral hospital if the crisis spirals out of control. The Manila Infectious Disease Control Center, which opened a day before the Luzon-wide quarantine, is housed at the Sta. Ana Hospital.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 25) — Local government units consider converting more establishments into quarantine and treatment facilities in response to the COVID-19 outbreak in the country.
He also admitted other cities are doing better in terms of implementing social distancing measures, which experts said could stop the dreaded virus from spreading, as Manila is more crowded than other cities.
Binay gave assurance that the isolation facility has all the necessary equipment including X-ray machines, defibrilators, and cardiac machines.
“If we talk about social distancing, ang pinakamabisa diyan ay iyong ibang siyudad kasi (other cities are more effective as they are) subdivided or gated communities.”
In a televised briefing on Wednesday, Manila City Mayor Isko Moreno said they will convert some 5,000 classrooms in public elementary and high schools into quarantine facilities should the COVID-19 outbreak turn for the worse in the city.
But he said he is thankful most of the Manila residents are compliant with the national directive to stay at home “so far.”
The Baguio City government is also eyeing the Sto. Niño Hospital, a 36-bed capacity medical facility which ceased operations in 2009, as an exclusive critical care unit for COVID-19 patients.
Manila reported Tuesday it has 30 confirmed COVID-19 cases with two deaths and two recoveries.
Mayor Benjie Magalong said the hospital owners have already agreed to the city’s use of the facility for free.
The city government said it intends to isolate those infected with the virus from other non-COVID-19 patients to prevent contamination risks in Baguio General Hospital and other hospitals in the city.
Health authorities have recorded 636 COVID-19 cases in the country, including 38 deaths and 26 recoveries, as of March 25.
