More beds needed with expected Covid surge

August 22, 2020 Metro BLISTT

The city is expected to see surges in Coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases in the coming weeks that the city government decided to increase its bed capacity for patients from 90 to 300 for the Sto. Nino Hospital alone. Sto. Nino Hospital has just been converted into a 90 bed capacity isolation center from 45, but is expected to be increased yet anew as the city undergoes an aggressive “targeted mass testing”, which now shifts to some 5,000-grocery packers, cashiers and promo personnel of groceries and supermarkets Mayor Benjamin B. Magalong gave the marching orders today, August 19, for city managers to speed up needed paperwork to see other bed capacity expansion plans through.
Administrator Bonifacio I. Dela Peña in a meeting with city managers said that efforts to make Sto. Niño Hospital ready for the surge are currently being implemented, starting with makeover of the facility and installation of some beds.
City Health Officer Dr. Rowena P. Galpo, on the other hand bared, pending “greenlight” Baguio Teachers Camp shall be prepped to accommodate some 129- patients. The Teachers Camp is now a 90-bed isolation center that also caters to returning overseas Filipino workers.
She said the City Health Services Office (CHSO) has recently completed documents required by the Department of Health – Cordillera for accreditation of the Baguio Teachers Camp as an isolation
facility. Last week, newly installed DoH – Cordillera director Ruby Constantino gave the accreditation of the two facilities to Magalong and Galpo.
Dela Peña said that the P12 million earmarked by Department of Public Works and Highways secretary Mark Villar will be used for the needed infrastructure and equipment at the Baguio Convention Center (BCC). The funds, he said, will be ready by mid-September.
He said that the BCC shall be the city’s central triage facility by then, capable of housing persons each serving 14-days of quarantine. Magalong said another facility with 25-bed capacity in Tuba, Benguet will serve as a standby isolation facility.
Pigeon Lobien