CEBU CITY, Philippines — The quarantine center being constructed at Block 27 of the North Reclamation Area in Cebu City will be put up on Friday, April 3, 2020.
The construction of the P80-million facility has been fast-tracked to finish the quarantine site in ten days.
The contractor of the project said the structure will have been put up by Friday, but its interior will take longer.
Mayor Edgardo Labella visited the site on Wednesday, April 1, 2020, the ninth day of the construction. The platform is already being laid out, which will serve as the foundation of the collapsible or temporary structure.
The contractor said the center can house at least 130 patients, which is less than the expected 200, but the design was tweaked to ensure that the patients are properly isolated.
Only the suspected cases of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (Covid-19) with severe acute respiratory illness (SARI) and those with influenza-like-illnesses (ILI) will be accommodated in the facility.
Currently, there are 99 SARI and over 200 ILI in Cebu City, and they will be prioritized in being placed in the city’s two quarantine centers.
“Naghope ta nga dili magamit ang quarantine centers, pero dapat andam na ta by now. (We hope we don’t have to use the quarantine centers, but we have to be ready by now),” said Labella.
Aside from Block 27, the Cebu City Medical Center (CCMC) will also be allotted for the Covid-19 cases and suspected cases. /rcg