MANILA, Philippines — The Rizal Memorial Coliseum in Manila City will accept mild and asymptomatic COVID-19 patients beginning April 6 as a quarantine facility.
The Rizal Memorial Coliseum is only among the facilities offered by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) to be used as quarantine facilities for COVID-19 patients.
It has a capacity of 120 beds or cubicles, Special Assistant to the Health Secretary Beverly Ho said Friday.
“This Monday, April 6, Rizal Memorial Coliseum will begin to accept mild and asymptomatic COVID-19 positive cases from Metro Manila and nearby areas,” Ho said in a virtual press briefing on Friday.
The facility will be operated by the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Philippine National Police Medical Core with three doctors, five to 10 doctors and 20 medics, Ho added.
The Philippine government is currently converting state-owned buildings and sports facilities into quarantine facilities to accommodate patients under investigation (PUIs) for COVID-19, asymptomatic patients and those who have already recovered from the respiratory illness
These include the Philippine International Convention Center, World Trade Center, and the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex, which will be turned into quarantine hubs as hospitals and health care centers struggle to house more COVID-19 patients.
The Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan, will also be turned into a “mega-quarantine facility” for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients.