A third COVID-19 quarantine facility in Marikina City was recently opened in preparation for the spike in COVID-19 cases, according to Marikina Mayor Marcelino Teodoro.

In an interview with DZMM Teleradyo on Monday, Jan. 3, Teodoro said the facility, which was previously closed when cases began to decrease in the city, was reopened after the two quarantine facilities were reported to have almost reached their maximum capacities.

“‘Yung unang dalawa, mayroon kami sigurong mga 150 capacity. Nasa 130 na ang mga kaso namin (Our two facilities have around 150 capacity, but we already have 130 cases so far),” Teodoro said.

He said that hospitals in the city are not yet congested, but the city aims to make quarantine facilities more accessible in order to reserve hospitalization to those with severe COVID-19 cases.

“Ang ginagawa namin ay early detection. Pagnatest mo, maski asymptomatic o mild, hindi sa ospital. Dalhin sa treatment facility para hindi mainfect ang ospital (What we’re doing is early detection. When we test people and they are asymptomatic or mild, we send them to the treatment facilities instead of the hospital so the infection will not spread in the hospital),” he added.

Eighty-five percent of COVID-19 cases in the city are mild or asymptomatic.

As of Jan. 3, 455,000 individuals have been vaccinated in the city, which is 145 percent of the city’s target population.

Teodoro said the city has not detected the Omicron variant among its COVID positive patients.

Vaccinations are ongoing. Around 5,000 - 6,000 people were scheduled to receive their booster shots on Monday, Jan. 3.

To stop the COVID surge, Teodoro said he has instructed officials at the barangay level to maximize monitoring and testing in the local communities, as well as to expand telemedicine and consultations as part of early detection efforts.

Teodoro also mentioned that he asked for data analytics and projections from the Department of Health (DOH) to better plan citywide health protocols for this surge at the Metro Manila Council (MMC) meeting on Sunday, Jan. 2.

“Humihingi kami ng projections para makita namin kung paano ‘yung magiging behavior nitong virus, ‘yung transmissibility. Kung talagang mataas. Siguradong mataas na iyon. Itong nararanasan natin, sinasabi rin naman ng OCTA na epekto ito two weeks ago dahil sa mga gatherings natin (We’re asking for projections so we can see how the virus behaves, especially it’s transmissibility. Surely it’s high. What we’re experiencing now, OCTA has said, is a result of mass gatherings two weeks ago),” Teodoro said.

He called for more national-level measures, particularly on border controls to properly screen travellers going in and out of the country.

Teodoro said the curfew for minors in Marikina City will be at 10 p.m. to 5 a.m, but is seeking for a uniform curfew for all cities in Metro Manila.

Metro Manila being under Alert Level 3 posed a big challenge for the city government and its residents.

Teodoro mentioned that people have lost their jobs or are unable to work because capacities in establishments have been reduced from 50 to 30 percent.

The city has also seen a setback in the conduct of face-to-face classes which began in December 2021.

However, Teodoro said he sees the tightening of measures and reverting to Alert Level 3 as a necessary move to ensure the protection and safety of the people. (Khriscielle Yalao)