More beds at Covid-19 Kalingang Fernandino isolation facility. Contributed photo
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – With an eye for any increase in the number of coronavirus cases here, the city government is continuously expanding the capacity of its isolation facility.
Only last week, the Department of Health issued an accreditation for the increase of the bed capacity of the Covid-19 Kalingang Fernandino isolation facility from 107 to 160.
The facility was the first DOH–certified community isolation unit/temporary treatment and monitoring facility for Covid-19 cases in Central Luzon.
It houses confirmed, suspect, and probable cases with mild symptoms and whose home environment cannot support isolation.
Since the start of its operation last April 4, a total of 870 individuals were admitted in the facility, of whom 729 were already discharged. As of Sept. 29, there were still 108 individuals undergoing quarantine there.
City health office OIC Dr. Renely Tungol, commander of the Incident Management Team, said the recent DOH certification to increase the facility’s bed capacity is a “manifestation of the correct planning and active response of the city government in addressing the Covid-19 pandemic.”
“At ito ay dahil sa pangunguna at gabay ng ating alkalde na si Mayor Edwin Santiago,” she hastened to add.
Meanwhile, Santiago disclosed that barangay isolation units (BIUs) are also being prepared pursuant to the city’s prevention and mitigation efforts against Covid-19.
BIUs will serve as temporary isolation facilities and will help in ensuring that the city isolation facility is not overwhelmed by increase in the number of cases.
“The expansion of our isolation facility plays a big role in containing the virus,” Santiago said.
In accordance with the Department of Interior and Local Government Memorandum Circular 2020-023, BIUs will be used to house persons under monitoring (PUMs) coming from outside Pampanga.
PUMs who show signs and symptoms of the coronavirus disease at the BUIs will be transferred to the Covid-19 Kalingang Fernandino isolation facility. —With CSFP-CIO
