EOC urges patients isolated in BICs to help maintain cleanliness

Workers from the Cebu City government, donning PPEs (personal protective equipment), clean several isolation centers on Saturday, August 28. |Photo courtesy of Councilor Joel Garganera (file photo)

MANDAUE CITY, Cebu — The chief implementor of Cebu City’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) has urged those being isolated in barangay isolation centers (BICs) to work together in maintaining the cleanliness of their rooms.

Councilor Joel Garganera made the statement following the complaint of a licensed nurse, who took to social media to share the ‘unsettling experience’ he had with his boyfriend when they spent a night at the Cebu City Central School on August 25, describing the government-run isolation center as ‘unsanitary.’

READ: Patients in Cebu City decry unsanitary isolation centers

Though the work should have been done by the in-charge personnel, Garganera said patients should also understand their workload and at least help in maintaining its cleanliness.

As he emphasized that they had at least four personnel in-charge at that isolation facility, who would do the monitoring of patients, cleaning, and delivering the food, Garganera asked the isolated individuals to be more patient.

“So pasensya lang, kay ako mindful sad ko ana…. na COVID sad akong anak bag o lang. Ato sang sabton ang atong mga nagtrabaho sad diha kay dili pod lalim nang magtrabaho nga mag PPE (personal protective equipment) ka, and then saka sa hagdanan limpyo. But then again ilaha manang trabaho, unya ang ato lang gyud diha sa atong BIC nga magtinabangay lang ta. And yes, we are now correcting it already,” he said, adding that they were just overwhelmed.

(Please have patience, because I am also mindful of that situation … my child has also been infected with COVID. Let us just understand the workers there because it is not easy working and wearing PPE (personal protective equipment), then going up the stairs to clean. But then again that is their job and for me, there at the BIC we should help each other. And yes, we are now correcting it already.)

The councilor, however, noted that patients should also bring their own hygiene kits and other personal necessities so as to avoid further inconvenience.

Garganera said he learned that the City Central School had almost reached its full capacity with 182 patients from a maximum of 185 capacity on Sunday, August 29, stressing that other four isolation facilities including in V. Rama, Mabolo, Zapatera  and Guadalupe had initiated a simultaneous disinfection that day.

“So akong gi-call ang attention sa in-charge nato diha nga dili na pwede. Kay upat ra gyud at any given time ang atong personnel nga mao nana siya tanan, mo check sa mga pasyente, molimpyo, unya mo deliver sa mga pagkaon. So dili gyud na pwede, daghan rana kaayo ang ilang giserbisyohan,” he said.

(So I called the attention of the in-charge there that should not be. That is because there are only four personnel at any given time and that is all of them, they check on the patients, they clean, then they deliver the food. So it cannot be, they just have too many jobs to handle.)

Garganera said it would affect the quality of their service, as he noted that when the number of patients was increasing, personnel should also be augmented just like hotels when they were accommodating more guests.

“So I told them gahapon na dili na pwede. Ayaw na pun-a kay og daghan gani bisan man gani atong hotels og daghan na gani atong guest, mo augment gyud ta og  tawo. Unya ang atong quality sa atong service mominos pod which is mao gyud ang nahitabo,” he added.

(So I told them yesterday that that cannot be. They should not make it full because even our hotels if they have many guests, they will augment their personnel. Then the quality of our service will also lessen which is what happened.)

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