By Hannah Torregoza Senator Nancy Binay has urged the Department of Health (DOH) to consider using the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex (RSMC) as a controlled facility for patients under investigation (PUIs) as the government steps up its fight against the novel coronavirus disease or COVID-19. Senator Nancy Binay
(FACEBOOK / MANILA BULLETIN) Binay also said health and local officials should likewise explore the possibility of converting recently upgraded sports facilities into quarantine centers for COVID-19 PUIs. “While waiting for test results, and as long as strict protocols are followed and biosecurity precautions are in place, I believe sports complexes like the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Manila can be an option instead of sending PUIs back to their homes,” Binay said. She said the newly restored sports facility can be one of the better options that can help to decongest PUIs in hospitals that have already gone over their allowable bed capacities. The RMSC houses the 8,000-seat capacity Rizal Memorial Coliseum, dormitories, an open-air track, baseball and football fields, tennis and other indoor sports facilities. Since the government still do not know when the crisis may last, the DOH should implement interventions to decongest hospitals and provide alternative halfway centers, she added. The senator noted that the DOH itself has said that the number of PUIs may peak to thousands in three to four months based on their estimates and projections. “It is for the best interest that there should be interventions made to isolate PUIs or PUMs from the rest of the population,” Binay said. She also said sports complexes or small hotels in the provinces may be evaluated if these can be appropriately used as evacuation and community quarantine facilities based on required health and medical standards. “Of course biosafety issues and risks must be considered at all times. But we also need to be proactive and come up with strategies that will stem the spread of the coronavirus, and do our share in defeating an invisible enemy,” she added. The lawmaker also suggested that provincial governments follow the lead of Albay where a hotel in Tabaco City was repurposed as quarantine center for cases of COVID-19. She said other LGUs have also dedicated half-way quarantine facilities in their respective areas. “As a precautionary and preventive measure, LGUs may lead the creation of strategies to proactively respond to a public health emergency,” she stressed. “There must be preemptive response, and having a controlled clearing house ensures the public that the government is on top of the situation,” Binay noted. By having a controlled quarantine facility, she said LGUs can achieve minimal community transmissions and, thereby, ensure the public's health and safety.