Amid the surge in coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases in the country, the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) continues to offer school facilities turned into isolation facilities to serve asymptomatic patients.
“We do what must be done,” PRC Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Senator Richard Gordon.
Gordon said the PRC recognized the shortage in isolation facilities as early as April.
“Nakikita natin na may kakulangan sa isolation facilities kaya naman, full force ang Red Cross hanggang ngayon na magsilbi sa mga kababayan natin na ngangailangan ng facilities (We see that there is a lack of isolation facilities so the Red Cross is still in full force to serve our countrymen who need the facilities), Gordon said.
To help mitigate the spread of COVID-19, Metro Manila was placed under Alert Level 4 starting Sept. 16. Gordon said that PRC Isolation facilities will “remain in full force” to isolate asymptomatic spreaders to prevent transmission in households.
PRC has served 3,381 patients in its isolation facilities so far. The humanitarian organization partnered with schools like the University of the Philippines (UP), Ateneo de Manila University (AdMU), De La Salle College-Benilde (DLS-CSB), Makati Science High School and Adamson University.
The newest isolation facility, PRC said, is located in Cagayan. The Cagayan Isolation Facility has a 182-bed capacity that will serve the whole Cagayan region and strengthen PRC’s COVID response throughout the country.
The rising cases of COVID-19 in the National Capital Region (NCR) alerted a lot of Metro Manila Mayors early this year. This prompted Gordon to turn school facilities into isolation facilities serving asymptomatic patients since April 2021.