MANILA, Philippines — The Rizal Memorial Coliseum (RMC) in Manila and the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) and World Trade Center in Pasay City are set to open this week as community quarantine facilities during the COVID-19 crisis.
Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire on Monday said efforts to convert RMC to a quarantine facility are already completed and it is ready to accommodate COVID-19 patients who are asymptomatic and with mild symptoms.
Meanwhile, the conversion of the PICC and the World Trade into quarantine centers is still ongoing and is expected to be finished within the week.
“Inaasahan na magbubukas ang tatlong facilities na ito ngayong linggo,” Vergeire said during a virtual press briefing.
The RMC can house about 112 COVID-19 patients while PICC can accommodate a maximum of 294 patients and World Trade Center can admit 502 patients.
The PICC will be managed by the Philippine National Police (PNP) Medical Corps. while the World Trade Center will be manned by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) medical personnel.
Both PNP and AFP will supervise the RMC and the DOH will provide support for all three quarantine facilities.
The conversion of the three quarantine facilities is a collaboration between the government and private sector, composed of the DOH, Department of Public Works and Highways, the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, and the Bases Conversion Development Authority.
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
This is a collaboration between the government and private sector, composed of the DOH, Department of Public Works and Highways, the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, and the Bases Conversion Development Authority.
The Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan, will also be turned into a “mega-quarantine facility” for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients.