Tumulak to DepEd: Extend use of public schools as BICs

One of the Barangay Isolation Centers in Cebu City. | Photo Courtesy of the Cebu City PIO

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Councilor Dave Tumulak is asking the Department of Education (DepEd) to allow the Cebu City government to extend the use of public schools as Barangay Isolation Centers (BIC) for at least one more month.

Tumulak, the chairperson of the City Council’s Committee on Disaster Risk Reduction and Management, said that with the continued rise in coronavirus cases in the city, they will still be needing BIC as isolation centers especially for asymptomatic patients.

Cebu City continues to record an average of 15 COVID-19 cases per day.

As of Friday, May 22, 2020, the City Health Department has already recorded 1, 854 confirmed cases of the infection.

DepEd has already informed City Hall of the June 15 deadline for the use of their facilities as BIC because of their need to also prepare for the opening of public school classes in August.

Tumulak said that DepEd’s June 15 deadline is unrealistic.

He said that they would need at least one more month to use the designated BICs and wait for the city’s COVID-19 cases to drop.

City Hall, he said, needed an area for use as isolation center for COVID-19 patients in order to prevent the further spread of the infection.  Isolation would take at least 14 days.

Aside from bringing infected patients outside of their respective communities, they are also given proper medical attention while staying in BICs, Tumulak said.

“Imagine if naa pana sa atong community ang mga patients and how risky sa ila family and neighborhood,” said the councilor.

(Imagine what will happen if the patients remain in the communities and how risky it will for their families and the entire neighborhood.)

Tumulak promised that they will disinfect schools and fix the classrooms which they used before returning these to DepEd. / dcb