The local government unit (LGU) of Makati City has partnered with the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) to open another COVID-19 isolation facility in the city.

On Tuesday (May 18), Mayor Abigail “Abby” Binay and Sen. Richard Gordon, CEO and chairman of the PRC, inked a memorandum of agreement (MOA) for the construction of the Makati Science High School isolation facility in Barangay Cembo, Makati.
The facility is expected to fortify the city’s program of isolating individuals who have tested positive for the coronavirus disease.
The city government believes that housing mildly ill patients in a separate environment will limit the transmission of the virus.
“While Makati has ample room and facilities that can be converted into isolation or quarantine facilities, it is the shortage of manpower that we find most difficult. So when this setup was offered by Senator Gordon, I immediately grabbed this opportunity so we can continue to increase our healthcare capacity,” Binay said in a statement.
“This 56-bed facility at the Makati Science High School dorm will greatly help our efforts in fighting COVID-19,” she added.
Binay said the facility will benefit patients tagged as “asymptomatic spreaders” and who are living in small apartments or one-room homes.
It will also help treat patients who are in the early stages of infection, and not wait for the symptoms to become severe and untreatable, she added.
The Makati Science High School isolation facility is the city’s fifth quarantine facility. A unique feature of this facility are the family rooms so family members who are ill can still stay together while getting expert medical care.
The city said there are also male, female, and gender-neutral rooms for patients.
Gordon thanked Binay for trusting the Red Cross and the city’s immediate response to this partnership.
The Makati Science isolation facility is the first partnership between PRC and Makati City.
The humanitarian organization will provide beds and bedding materials and supplies, hygiene kits, water, bathroom, shower facilities, and a system for monitoring patient data.
PRC personnel will also monitor patients twice a day and handle patient documentation.