The city government is eyeing for additional facilities that will house those patients under investigation (PUI) amid the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic.
Currently, the city’s PUI centers are located in Malagos Rehab Center, La Vida Inn located in Maa, Alternative Learning School (ALS) beside People’s Park, the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) near the Malagos Rehab Center, and the Queensland Hotel, which has offered 240 rooms to the city government.
Mayor Sara Duterte, in a radio interview on Saturday, said they are looking for two additional facilities which will also cater to PUIs.
“We are preparing the 6th and 7th PUI center and we have already talked to two groups about it,” she said.
She added that the Malagos Rehab Center, which can accommodate some 28 patients, currently houses 22 PUIs.
“Only Malagos center is occupied and the rest were still empty. We want to fill in a specific center first before opening the other one,” Duterte added.
In La Vida Inn, she said it can accommodate up to 26 PUIs while the ALS center will accommodate positive Covid-19 patients with mild cases only.
“We do not want them in the hospital, because we reserve the beds for those people who needed the health intervention the most, like the use of the oxygen and ventilators,” Mayor Sara added.
She said on Monday (March 30), Covid-19 positive patients from Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC) with mild symptoms will be transferred to ALS.
For BFP and Queensland, she said the construction works are still ongoing.
As to the staff who will man the PUI centers, Duterte said this remains a challenge to the city government.
However, she said they have settled with what they have right now as they cannot impose to health volunteers to render their services to the centers.
“We have called on several volunteer health workers but we do not impose anything on them because it is a public health emergency and it is not right for us to push them on the job. It’s purely voluntary because there is a risk to their health and their life,” Duterte said.
She added that it is necessary to put trained and highly-skilled health workers because of the risks posed by the job.
The Department of Health in Davao Region confirmed that it already has a total of 30 people positive of Covid-19, 20 of them were admitted at SPMC. (PNA)