More mega quarantine facilities needed in Cebu City —Angara

More mega quarantine facilities should be established in Cebu City which has recently seen a rise in COVID-19 cases, according to Senator Sonny Angara on Tuesday.

The lawmaker, who is also a COVID-19 survivor, said the Department of Health should step up its game to contain the further spread of the virus.

“We need to put up more mega quarantine facilities in Region 7, especially in Cebu City, which could become the country’s next COVID-19 hotspot in the country," Angara said in a statement.

He pointed out that the occupancy rate of hospital beds for the entire Cebu province was already at 67.2% as of June 22. 

More than 70% and 58.8% of the isolation and ICU beds in the province are already occupied, respectively, and 60.27% of mechanical ventilators are in use, according to Angara.

In Cebu City alone, the senator said 90% of isolation beds and 93% of ward beds are already occupied.

Last week, Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said more isolation facilities will be added in Cebu City.

Testing czar Vince Dizon also acknowledged that the COVID-19 situation in the city is "very alarming."

As of June 29, Cebu City has 4,639 confirmed cases of COVID 19, of which 3,912 are active cases, 646 have recovered, and 81 resulted in death.

Angara urged more hospitals in Cebu City to offer convalescent plasma therapy or transfusion of antibodies for the treatment of severe COVID-19 cases.

After recovering from the virus in April, the senator donated his plasma to help other patients with severe COVID-19 infection. —Dona Magsino/KG, GMA News