PICC, WTC, Rizal Memorial to house almost 2,000 COVID-19 PUIs — IATF
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) Forum Halls, the World Trade Center (WTC), and the Rizal Memorial Coliseum will be able to accommodate a total of 1,950 patients under watch for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) once their conversion into temporary quarantine sites is completed, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said Thursday.
In a virtual press briefing, Nograles, spokesman of the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, reported that the three quarantine facilities will be ready by April 10 to 12.
“We would like to report that the PICC will be ready by April 10; the facilities are being prepared by the DPWH and EEI Corporation and when completed this will have 700 beds,” Nograles said.
“The Rizal Memorial Sports Complex is being readied by PRIME – BMD or Razon Group will be ready by April 10 as well, and will be able to house 600 beds,” he added.
The WTC, meanwhile, will be ready by April 12 and it will have 650 beds. It is now being set up by ICCP and Ayala or Makati Dev’t Corp, according to the Palace official.
The government is converting these state-owned facilities into isolation sites as hospitals and health care centers struggle to accommodate more COVID-19 patients.
The Department of Health (DOH) earlier said these temporary facilities will serve as isolation sites for patients under investigation (PUIs) for COVID-19, asymptomatic patients and those who have already recovered from the respiratory illness.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the Philippines has recorded a total of 2,311 COVID-19 cases, 96 deaths, and 50 recoveries from the infectious respiratory disease that originated from Whan City in China’s Hubei Province.
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