MANILA, Philippines — Convention centers, sports facilities, and hotels will be turned into “forced quarantine areas” for COVID-19 persons under investigation (PUIs) and persons under monitoring (PUMs) in Metro Manila.
Chief implementer of the national policy against COVID-19 and Presidential adviser on peace Carlito Galvez Jr. said in a statement Tuesday that the government is preparing to convert these establishments in Metro Manila “into COVID-19 ‘forced quarantine areas,’ as the country braces for the expected rise in COVID-19 cases due to the DOH’s increase capacity to conduct tests.”
Specifically, Galvez said that among those to be converted into quarantine sites are the Rizal Coliseum, World Trade Center, Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) Complex, Philippine International Convention Center (PICC), Philippine Arena, and the Philippine Sports Complex (ULTRA).
“DOH [Department of Health], AFP [Armed Forces of the Philippines] and Philippine National Police medical personnel will handle the PUIs and PUMs in the converted facilities,” Galvez noted.
The Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases earlier said the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) would be in charge of converting these buildings into quarantine areas.
“The conversion of the Rizal Coliseum and the World Trade Center will be completed soon. Moreover, the DPWH is also prepared to expand the capacity of the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) and other COVID19 designated hospitals,” Galvez said.
He added that the national task force against COVID-19 is also “gearing up for the massive testing of persons under investigation (PUI) persons, under monitoring (PUMs) and health care workers across the country.”
Galvez also noted the need to reinforce the DOH’s capabilities, especially in conducting more tests.
“As we race against time to flatten the curve of the disease, there is an urgent need for us to reinforce the capability of DOH frontline personnel to conduct massive testing and deliver much-needed health care services to communities across the country,” Galvez said.
DOH earlier said the government-accredited laboratories have so far conducted over 15,300 tests for COVID-19, a respiratory disease caused by a coronavirus names SARS-CoV-2.
Meanwhile, 538 news cases of COVID-19 were recorded in the country as of March 31, bringing the overall count to 2,084.
Of the number, 88 fatalities have been recorded while recoveries are at 49.