CEBU CITY, Philippines — Mandaue City’s Central Quarantine facility that can accommodate up to 86 patients is now 75 to 80 percent complete and is expected to be operational by Monday, April 27, 2020.
City Councilor Nerissa Soon-Ruiz said the facility located at the Mandaue City Central Elementary School (MCCES) would house confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients with very mild symptoms.
Soon-Ruiz said the near completion of the facility would be in time for the massive rapid testing in the city that would be facilitated by the Department of Health in Central Visayas (DOH-7).
Read more: 3 more from Mandaue City test positive for COVID-19
With the possible massive testing, Soon-Ruiz said an increase in the COVID-19 cases in the city would be highly possible.
As of April 22, Mandaue has 9 cases of COVID-19 with two recoveries and one death.
“Hopefully, among gi-ampo nga dili lang gyud unta magdaghan pero kini gud inig mass testing daghan na man gyud ni mahibaw-an nga mo-come out nga positive. We are preparing for this. Hopefully, our preparation will be enough,” she said.
(Hopefully, we pray that the cases will not increase, but when the mass testing will be done, we will know who will come positive of the virus. We are preparing for this. Hopefully, our preparation will be enough.)
The ongoing preparation of Mandaue City Central Quarantine Facility at the city’s central elementary school is now 75-80 percent complete as of April 23. (Photo courtesy of Councilor Nerissa Soon-Ruiz)
Those who will turn positive in the rapid tests will be subject to confirmation using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing.
While waiting for the PCR test results, the patients will be temporarily placed in the designated classrooms of MCCS.
Those who will be found positive in the PCR test, but has mild symptoms, will be forwarded to the isolation cubicles at the school’s gymnasium that has 86 beds.
Look: Mandaue’s COVID-19 quarantine center
Soon-Ruiz said plastic barriers and separate sewerage systems were also being installed in MCCES to assure the safety of the communities around the school.
Patients with moderate symptoms will be forwarded to the Eversley Child Sanitarium in Barangay Jagobiao while severe cases will be referred to Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC).
“Kung very mild cases lang o low-grade fever lang, pwede ra diha kay naa may doctors and nurses,” Soon-Ruiz said.
(For very mild cases or low grade fever, they can stay there because we have doctors and nurses there.)
The Central Quarantine Facility’s staffing will include three doctors who will be on standby for 24 hours inside the facility and six nurses who will be working in eight-hour shifts.
Soon-Ruiz added that they were working on another isolation facility for asymptomatic cases at the Mandaue City Comprehensive National High School.
If within 14 days their symptoms will not progress, they will be tested again and will be released if they will render two negative results within a 48-hour interval.
“Once they are out, saloon sa barangay isolation center labi na kung ilang balay dili fit nga i-home isolate sila,” Soon-Ruiz said.
(Once they are out, the barangay isolation center will take care of them especially if the patient’s house is not fit to isolate them.)
Released COVID-19 patients will further undergo another 14-day quarantine as part of the protocols of DOH./dbs