Davao City eyes more PUI sites in case of surge in COVID-19 cases

DAVAO CITY, Davao del Sur, Philippines — The city government has prepared at least three more quarantine sites for persons under investigation (PUI)s in anticipation of a possible surge in the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases in the city.

In an interview, Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio said the city has identified the Rehabilitation Center Building and the Boy Scouts of the Philippines sites in Malagos and the Alternative Learning (ALS) Building in downtown here as quarantine areas for PUIs showing mild symptoms of the virus.

The mayor has also asked the Department of Education (DepEd) to dedicate one entire public school building as possible PUI area in case there would be a surge in the number of cases in the city.

But she assigned the Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC) to handle PUIs showing severe COVID-19 symptoms.

Earlier, Carpio mandated private hospitals not to cater to COVID-19 patients so that they could still take care of non-COVID-19 patients and emergencies in the city.

“We have to understand that even with this pandemic, we still have emergency cases not related to COVID-19,” the mayor said.

This would also prevent hospitals from being contaminated so that they could freely attend to non-COVID-19 patients, she added.

“We should also spare our health workers from the danger of it,” she said. “If all health personnel get contaminated then there will be no one left to cure and care for the patients,” she said.

She urged private hospitals to report suspected COVID-19 cases to the city’s operation center, not the 911.

“Our 911 is reserved only for emergencies. We still have calamities and certain emergencies aside from COVID-19, so you should only call our operation center, not the 911, for COVID-19 suspected cases,” she said.

She added a transport vehicle had been on standby to deliver the suspected cases to the quarantine areas. Ambulances have also been reserved for critical patients, she said.

/atm