The city government of Paranaque will start operating before the end of the month the 39 container vans converted as isolation facilities for COVID-19 patients.
Mayor Edwin Olivarez said the prototype health facility will serve as a temporary shelter for individuals suspected of carrying the deadly disease while their case are being processed by the City Health Office.
Each 40-foot shipping container is divided into four rooms and designed based on the Department of Health guidelines and recommendations to have proper ventilation, and toilet and bath needed by patients while being isolated.
“The COVID-19 container van facilities are equipped with beds, air condition units and clean comfort rooms,” said Olivarez, adding that they will also designate one container van for medical frontliners in each area.
The city chief executive earlier ordered the heads of health facilities to place on mandatory isolation all individuals found positive of the deadly disease.
The 15 container vans with 60 isolation rooms are located at the vacant lot fronting the Paranaque City College along Coastal Road corner Kabihasnan Road, Barangay San Dionisio. Patients who are asymptomatic and with mild symptoms will be admitted in this facility.
On the other hand, the 24 container vans with 96 isolation rooms are stationed in the open space fronting the former popular entertainment bar, Air Force One KTV bar in Barangay San Dionisio. It will serve as mobile hospitals for COVID-19 patients.
Early this year, the management of the KTV bar shut down the establishment because of the effects of the pandemic.
The city government reported a total of 4,367 coronavirus cases, including 820 or 19.2 percent active cases and 121 or 2.8 percent deaths as of August 26. It also recorded 3,461 or 79.2 percent recoveries, one of the highest recovery records in Metro Manila cities.
Barangay San Isidro has now the highest number of COVID 19 cases with 115 confirmed followed by Barangay BF Homes with 104 confirmed cases, according to health office data.
Last Friday, the city government locked down the Silverio Compound in Barangay San Isidro due to the rising cases of COVID-19 in the area.
At present, it is maintaining eight isolation facilities including one government owned hospital and seven public elementary school buildings that are accepting confirmed patients for the past five months.
However, Dr. Jefferson Pagsisihan, director of Ospital ng Parañaque, said allocated beds for COVID-19 patients in the eight facilities were now almost occupied and might not be able to accommodate new cases in the coming days.
But Olivarez explained that COVID-19 cases in the city would continue to rise as the local government expanded its testing, but said that the situation is “still manageable.”
Meanwhile, the national government announced that one of the country’s biggest quarantine facility is expected to start operating this September in Paranaque City.
The first phase of the 525-bed isolation facility located at Nayong Pilipino along D. Macapagal Avenue is expected to open early next month, according to COVID-19 testing czar Vince Dizon.
He said the facility will only cater to mild and asymptomatic patients.