BAGUIO CITY – The city government has established a holding area for coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases as surges continue, assuring that patients will be attended to while beds are yet to be freed in hospitals.
Mayor Benjamin Magalong on Wednesday said it is better to have a simple facility than let patients stay in their homes without a medical worker attending to them.
He said a portion of the Baguio community isolation area at the former Sto. Niño Hospital has been converted as a holding area for the Covid-19 patients who need to be confined in the hospital but cannot be accommodated due to full occupancy of medical facilities in the city.
He said the area will also serve those who used to have moderate and severe symptoms who have been downgraded to mild and asymptomatic or are simply recuperating.
This will allow the Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center (BGHMC) which is managed by the Department of Health, to free up bed spaces for Covid-19 patients who have moderate to critical symptoms.
The mayor said the facility is provided with medicines, doctors and nurses, an X-ray facility, oxygen supplies, and other basic logistics needed by the patients.
“It is not as complete as what BGH (MC) has but it is better than leaving them at home without these basic medical services readily available,” he said.
He said home isolation is discouraged except if the homes can provide a space for their Covid-19 positive relatives that qualify with the criteria set by the DOH or if all members of the household have tested positive and can stay together while recuperating at the comforts of their homes.
Aside from the community isolation center, the city government also maintains other isolation areas using several halls at the Baguio Teachers’ Camp, few hotels converted as such, the facility beside the city’s central triage and the private-company established isolation facilities for their employees.
As of 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, the city has 4,530 active Covid-19 cases out of the 11,965 in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR).
Of the 11,965 active cases in the region, 4,917 are asymptomatic, 6,109 with mild symptoms, 316 are moderate, 9 severe, 126 critical, and 488 for verification. **Liza Agoot, PNA
