Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark Villar said that a total of 150 facilities that were built and repurposed are now being used as facilities for quarantine, isolation and as off-site dormitories of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients and frontline workers.
Citing the latest “We Heal as One” Report, Villar said that of the 150 facilities, 19 are newly-constructed, while 131 are DPWH-constructed evacuation centers that have been repurposed as COVID-19 facitilies.
“The 19 newly-converted and constructed facilities include the 11 Mega Quarantine Facilities with 2,584-bed capacity.”
“The 19 newly-converted and constructed facilities include the 11 Mega Quarantine Facilities with 2,584-bed capacity in the National Capital Region (NCR), Regions 3, 4-A, and 11; six Off-site Dormitories with 192-bed capacity in NCR; and one Isolation/Quarantine Facility with 149-bed capacity in NCR and Region 8,” the public works chief said.
“These existing facilities plus the recently-completed have a bed capacity of 8,820.”
“Our Regional Evacuation Centers nationwide on the other hand were repurposed to accommodate up to 5,895 COVID-19 patients. Overall, these existing facilities plus the recently-completed have a bed capacity of 8,820,” added the public works head.
Aside from the existing 150 facilities, he noted that 111 more are now ongoing consisting of one Mega Quarantine Facility in Region 8; 16 Off-site Dormitories in NCR, Regions 3 and 7; 28 Isolation/Quarantine Facilities in Regions 7 and 8; and 66 Evacuation Centers nationwide. When completed, these facilities are expected to cater to at least 4,252 patients and frontliners.
DPWH also proposed the construction of additional 342 isolation facilities nationwide with a total of 12,978-bed capacity and 39 Off-site Dormitories with 968-bed capacity.
“We are working closely with local government units and national government agencies to ensure we provide enough and timely infrastructure support in our fight versus COVID-19,” said Villar.
“These facilities are essential in decongesting hospitals and further preventing the nationwide spread of the virus, as we slowly open borders for the economy” he concluded.