Brgy health stations too small to be converted to community quarantine facilities —DOH

Barangay health stations nationwide could not be converted to community quarantine facilities as these do not meet the standards set by the Department of Health, according to Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire on Wednesday.

"May standard po tayo sa community quarantine facility na mayroon ho tayong sukat at may distansya bawat kama para ho hindi tabi-tabi," Vergeire said in a virtual press conference.

"Kapag BHS po, makakapaglaman ka lang siguro diyan ng dalawa hanggang tatlong kama so hindi po namin inirerekomenda na 'yan ang ating gamitin," she added.

Vergeire said this in response to the reported suggestion of JBros Construction firm to convert around 500 barangay health stations it previously built during the previous administration—still not fully paid by the government due to alleged anomalies—to COVID-19 quarantine facilities.

These stations had been designed and constructed to serve as extensions of rural health units, according to the DOH official.

Among the designated community quarantine facilities that are set to open in Metro Manila this week are the Rizal Memorial Coliseum, Philippine International Convention Center, and World Trade Center.

The DOH said that the three can accommodate more than 900 COVID-19 positive patients who are asymptomatic and those with mild symptoms.

Congestions of COVID-19 patients in hospitals are seen to ease as these community quarantine facilities become fully operational. --KBK, GMA News