Many isolation facilities available, Vergeire says as gov’t discourages home quarantine

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire on Monday said plenty of isolation facilities are available to accommodate COVID-19 patients.

Vergeire said temporary treatment and monitoring facilities have already been established.

“Marami pa hong available na puwede nating paglagyan kung sakali maglalagay po ng tayo ng mild at asymptomatic cases dito po sa mga facilities na ito,” she said in an interview on GMA's Unang Hirit.

In isolation facilities managed by local government units (LGUs), Vergeire said the occupancy rate was only at 25%, while national government-run facilities' occupancy rate was at 38%.

She earlier said LGU-managed “COVID-Ligtas” facilities have 52,223 vacant hospital beds out of the 70,079 total, while national government-run “Mega Ligtas” facilities have 1,958 available out of the 3,193 total, as of Friday.

On Sunday, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said the government is now discouraging home quarantine for persons who test positive for COVID-19 to lessen the risk of transmitting the virus within households.

Nograles, co-chairperson of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, said the government now prefers patients to undergo quarantine in facilities instead. —Joviland Rita/KG, GMA News