TABUK CITY, Kalinga – Isolation units for positive cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) worth P21 million will be built by the Department of Public Works and Highways - Lower Kalinga District Engineering Office (DPWH-LKDEO) in Tabuk City and Rizal town to augment the needed isolation facilities to help control the spread of the disease.
DPWH-LKDEO Assistant District Engineer Ruby Uyam said the two localities are being prioritized due to the continuous arrival of Locally Stranded Individuals (LSIS) and the growing number COVID-19 positive cases.
She said that Rizal town will get three units with 30-bed capacity and two units with 20 beds for Tabuk City.
“The 10 bed-capacity facility measures 10 by 15 meters. Each LGU will also receive one unit of comfort room,” she said. Uyam said a budget of P21 million from the Special Allotment Release Order (SARO) is expected to be released this month and a memorandum of agreement will be inked between DPWH Secretary Mark Villar and the LGU chiefs prior to their construction.
Uyam said the DPWH has proposed the establishment of isolation facilities in all the municipalities depending on their need assessment.
DPWH Kalinga Upper Engineering District Engr. Teodoro Owek said that they have also proposed a 30-bed capacity for each of the municipalities covered by their office.
Once the SARO is received by their office, the construction, he said, could be finished in 45 days.
“We could finish the project within the year,” he said. The DPWH proposed at least three units for each LGU so those under quarantine could be separated according to their health condition to ensure that the positive cases will not infect the other individuals in the isolation area.
Secretary Villar, who is also the isolation Czar, initiated the project through the DPWH Task Force to Facilitate Augmentation of Local and National Healthcare Facilities.
The offsite dormitories are being constructed around the country to augment the needed isolation facilities in various local government units as the country continues to deal with the increasing COVID-19 cases.