RITM identifies equipment needed to fight COVID-19

MANILA, Philippines — The Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) has detailed a list of equipment it would need to help accommodate more individuals suspected of carrying the virus responsible for the COVID-19 disease.

A letter dated March 4 said the RITM needs two 16-square-meter tents that must be “fire retardant, waterproof, rot-proof and UV-stabilized” with “large windows measuring 360 cm wide and 60 cm long”; two 280-watt heavy-duty type evaporative air coolers; 10 “bench-type” foldable chairs; a laptop with 4GB memory and a 42-inch smart TV.

The letter signed by RITM director Celia Carlos also gave estimated amounts for each item. Her letter, addressed to Muntinlupa Rep. Rozzano Rufino “Ruffy” Biazon, said each tent costs P81,048; an air cooler, P21,995; a foldable chair, P3,500; the laptop, P25,000 and the television, P25,000. The wish list cost totals P291,086.

Carlos’ wish list was prompted by a query made by Biazon and a group of 1980s music enthusiasts who initially organized a music gig in Poblacion, Makati, on March 6 for fun that they later turned into a fundraiser for RITM.

Biazon, in a phone interview, said the plan is to use the new equipment for a “makeshift triage area” just outside the RITM building in Alabang.

Congress gave the RITM a budget of P535 million for 2020 that did not include contingency funds for the detection and treatment of COVID-19.

Biazon recalled that the novel coronavirus was just being discovered in China at the time lawmakers were discussing the proposed 2020 budget.

Biazon’s “core group” includes former elections commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal, journalist Marga Deona and disc jockey Don Ubaldo.

“We were the ones who reached out to RITM. After discussing the gig, we agreed to turn it into a fundraiser and we chose RITM. Initially, we wanted to help a hospital but RITM, being ground zero for COVID-19 testing, was eventually chosen because of its previous experience with testing Severe acute respiratory syndrome patients. We also realized RITM would become the center [for patients] and it is also a research hospital handling infectious diseases,” the congressman said.

Biazon noted that the day after the Poblacion gig, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III announced the first confirmed local transmission of COVID-19 in the country.

Larrazabal said there were suggestions for the group to donate more immediate needs like masks and gloves to help health experts examine and treat patients.

“We were thinking longer term. Tents and air coolers can be used for a longer period. Hopefully, others would also raise funds for gloves and masks because you will really take pity on RITM,” he added.

“We were able to raise between P250,000 to P260,000 and there are still [pledges] for more air coolers. And the computer is already in the bag,” he said.

The RITM presently has 10 negative pressure rooms for the complete isolation of patients. Health care workers in the building are required to wear full-body personal protective equipment to prevent infection.

—With a report from Jovic Yee