Capitol offers evacuation center in Apas as isolation facility for future mild, asymptomatic COVID-19 patients

The Cebu province’s evacuation center in Barangay Apas, Cebu City will be used as an isolation facility for future mild and asymptomatic COVID-19 patients. CDN Digital photo | Rosalie Abatayo

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Cebu provincial government has offered its evacuation center located in the upland portion of Barangay Apas as an isolation center for residents in Cebu City who may be tested positive for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

Governor Gwendolyn Garcia, during her press conference on Wednesday, April 15, 2020, said the facility is now being prepared to host future COVID-19 patients that are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms.

With Cebu City now having 53 cases of COVID-19, 22 of which have been recorded just today, Garcia said the province now needs to help the city in providing for a facility to isolate asymptomatic and mild-symptom patients.

Both the city and provincial governments are not dismissing the possibility that the number of cases may still go higher as the health department continues to conduct contact tracing and targeted testing.

“Atong nakita nga gikinahanglan motabang usab ang probinsya sa Sugbo pag-offer og pasilidad kung diin atong mahimong ibutang isip quarantine center or ILI (influenza like illness) center alang niadtong magpositibo apan asymptomatic o kaha mild lang, mao nang buhaton nato ang atong mahimo aron pagtabang,” Garcia said

(We saw the need for the province to help in providing for a facility that will serve as a quarantine center for future positive cases that are asymptomatic or are only exhibiting mild symptoms.)

READ: No more Filipino passengers quarantined in Apas facility

The evacuation center was once used by the province as a quarantine facility last February 2020 for Filipinos who arrived in Cebu from Taiwan and the administrative regions of China when the COVID-19 first broke out.

At the time, the quarantined persons have complained about the provisions of the facility particularly on water and electricity.

Garcia said that she has already met with the the heads of the Department of Health in Central Visayas (DOH-7) and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH-7) for the conversion of the evacuation center as an isolation facility.

Garcia said the DOH-7 will look into the supervision of the operation of the facility while the DPWH-7 will prepare the physical modification of the edifice to suit as an isolation center.

Meanwhile, although the province has kept the number of COVID-19 cases at three since April 1, Garcia said each town has already prepared their own isolation centers in case an asymptomatic resident or a mild case will be found in their areas. /rcg