COVID-19 hits drug rehab center in Argao

Coronavirus Illustration | Stock Photo

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has hit another closed-setting facility here in Cebu, a health official has confirmed on Monday, July 20.

Dr. Mary Jean Loreche, spokesperson of the Department of Health in Central Visayas (DOH – 7), said at least 50 patients undergoing drug rehabilitation in their facility in Argao, Cebu were infected with the virus.

“Yes, it is true (that we have at least 50 patients in our rehab center confirmed to have COVID-19),” Loreche told reporters in a virtual press conference.

Loreche said the patients had been placed under isolation within the facility to prevent the virus from spreading further.

Previously called the New Horizon Treatment and Rehabilitation Center, DOH Treatment and Rehabilitation Center in Argao town, Cebu (DOH-TRC Argao) was opened in 1984, making it one of the country’s oldest rehabilitation facilities for drug dependents.

It currently has a bed capacity of 300.

In the meantime, Loreche said they were looking at the possibilities that the patients in DOH-TRC Argao afflicted with COVID-19 could have gotten the virus either from visiting family members or the facility’s staff.

“Similar to what happened to our jails in Metro Cebu, closed-settings like our rehab centers are prone to infections,” explained Loreche.

Argao is a first-class municipality located approximately 71 kilometers southeast of Cebu City, the province’s capital.

DOH – 7 also said they were still gathering more data about the patients in DOH-TRC Argao, who were confirmed to have COVID-19, a virus that had also infected several hundred more in other similar facilities such as the Cebu City Jail, Mandaue City Jail, and the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC). /dbs