BAGUIO CITY – Amidst the increasing number of cases due to the aggressive implementation of the expanded testing and contact tracing, the city government here is currently working on the expansion of the Baguio City Isolation Unit at the former Sto. Niño Hospital from 90 to at least 400 beds by the end of October.
City Administrator Engr. Bonifacio dela Peña said the upgrading of the city’s isolation unit will ensure that the facility will be able to accommodate the increasing number of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients who will be required to undergo isolation.
For the past 10 days of September, the city admitted a total of 71 COVID-19 patients, with the record-high of 19 cases on September10.
The local government has also been able to convert parts of the Baguio Teachers Camp into temporary treatment and monitoring facilities with its 129 beds.
He said the city and the public works department will be able to complete the 16 bed isolation unit that was constructed within the Baguio Convention Center (BCC) grounds to serve as an additional facility for the possible surge of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the coming weeks.
The improvement of the city’s isolation facility will be working on the former Sto. Niño hospital on a per floor basis so that its capacity will be increasing on a periodic basis until such time that the maximum capacity of 400 beds will be achieved preferably by the end of next month.
The city wants to ensure that the capacity of the isolation unit will be more than the existing occupancy to prevent the possible congestion once there will be an unexpected surge in the number of patients because of the ongoing aggressive expanded testing and contact tracing.
Meanwhile, Mayor Benjamin Magalong requested his personnel to conduct an ocular inspection of a facility in Barangay Irisan that could be converted into an additional isolation facility when the need arises in the future. This is to guarantee that the existing isolation units will not be overwhelmed when there will be a sudden surge in COVID-19 cases.
Magalong said it was important for the city to continue looking into other public or private structures that could be tapped as possible isolation facilities in the future as the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases remain unpredictable.