The Parañaque City government converted 39 container vans into isolation facilities for COVID-19 patients and will start operating before the end of this month.
Mayor Edwin L. Olivarez said the prototype health facility will serve as a temporary shelter for patients who would be possible carriers of the dreaded disease while they await processing and medical intervention from the City Health Office.
Olivarez said each 40-footer shipping container van is divided into four rooms and designed as per Department of Health (DOH) guidelines and recommendations to have proper ventilation, and toilet and bath for each room inasmuch as every probable COVID-19 patient needs full isolation.
“The COVID-19 container van facilities are equipped with beds, aircon units, and clean comfort rooms,” said Olivarez, adding that they will also designate one container van for the medical frontliners in each area.
Olivarez had ordered heads of the health facilities to place on mandatory isolation all individuals found positive of the deadly disease.
The 15 container vans with 60 isolation rooms are located at the vacant lot fronting Parañaque City College along Coastal Road corner Kabihasnan Road in Barangay San Dionisio. Patients who are asymptomatic and with mild symptoms will be admitted in this facility.
On the other hand, the 24 container vans with 96 isolation rooms are stationed in the open space fronting Air Force One KTV bar in Barangay San Dionisio and will serve as mobile hospitals for COVID-19 patients. Early this year, the management of the KTV bar shut down the establishment because of the pandemic.
Parañaque recorded a total 4,367 COVID-19 cases, including 820 (19.2 percent) active cases and 121 (2.8 percent) deaths as of August 26. However, the city recorded 3,461 (79.2 percent) recoveries.
Barangay San Isidro has now the highest number of confirmed COVID-19 cases with 115 followed by Barangay BF Homes with 104, according to the city health office data.
The city government is now maintaining eight isolation facilities including one government-owned hospital and seven public elementary school buildings.
Aside from this, the national government announced earlier the construction of the biggest quarantine facility in Metro Manila which is expected to start operating this September in Parañaque City. The 525-bed isolation facility will only cater mild and asymptomatic patients.