Cimatu eyes Cebu gymnasiums, coliseums as quarantine facilities

Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu on Wednesday said he is eyeing the conversion of gymnasiums and coliseums in Cebu City into quarantine facilities for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19 patients.

“(We’re) looking into the possibility of converting some gymnasiums, coliseums into quarantine areas instead of (the patients) being located in (barangay isolation facilities),” Cebu’s COVID-19 response overseer said in a virtual press conference with other Cabinet officials in Mandaue City.

Cimatu said he suspects that the barangay isolation facilities contribute to the further spread of the virus.

Due to this, he said the government will relocate isolation facilities in Cebu City from barangays to the coastal area such as the Normal Oasis for Adaptation and a Home (NOAH) Complex.

He said the NOAH Complex, a project of the local government and private sector, can accommodate about 350 patients.

Cimatu added the government is also eyeing to add more cubicles in the complex to accommodate more patients.

“NOAH muna. ‘Yan muna ang pupuntahan if there will be additional infected individuals. We will not bring them anymore to their respective barangays. We will bring them sa NOAH and hopefully these 350 cubicles will be increased para kung may additional pa, mayroon pa,” he said.

Cebu City is one of the COVID-19 hot spots in the country. On Tuesday, it logged 353 new COVID-19 cases, the highest number of cases it reported in a single day, raising the total to 5,494.

The Cebu City Health Department also said total recoveries rose to 2,723 after 10 more patients recovered from the respiratory illness, while the death toll remained at 169 with no new fatalities.

To ensure the residents' compliance with ECQ protocols, the Philippine National Police has deployed over a hundred of its elite Special Action Force commandos to the city. —LDF, GMA News