CITY OF SAN FERNANDO — Two hotels here have been rented by the provincial government to serve as isolation facilities for Covid-19 patients with mild symptoms as hospitals cope with the rising cases of the disease.
Gov. Dennis “Delta” Pineda said the hotels have “a hospital setup” with every air-conditioned room set with an oxygen tank, a dextrose holder, a bathroom and hospital beds. A portable X-ray machine is also available, and “we have doctors and nurses 24/7,” he added.
The two hotels will house patients belonging to the same households, said Dr. Dax Tidula, head of the Pampanga Covid-19 Isolation Facilities, with each room accommodating three patients.
The use of the hotels raised to 1,035 the number of Covid-19 dedicated rooms and cubicles in the province.
The evacuation centers in Barangay San Roque, Mexico and Barangay Sta. Catalina, Lubao were recently converted into isolation centers, providing 215 cubicles and 150 rooms, respectively. The permanent structures were supplemented with 15 container vans that the Department of Public Works and Highways refashioned into rooms.
“We put up more isolation facilities because we wanted to save other family members from exposure to the coronavirus. Instead of waiting at home while on standby for the availability of rooms in hospitals, they have the isolation rooms to use,” he said.
The isolation centers would take in patients for the mandatory 14-day quarantine. The province is also using the National Government Administrative Center with 323 cubicles, and Athletes’ Building B with 170 rooms, both in New Clark City in Capas, Tarlac as quarantine facilities.
The Diosdado P. Macapagal Memorial Provincial Hospital in Guagua oversees swabbing and mild cases while the 10 district hospitals handle non-Covid-19 cases.
Pineda disclosed that 90 percent of critical care beds at the Jose B. Lingad Memorial General Hospital and private hospitals are occupied by patients with moderate to severe Covid-19 symptoms.
Since March 30, Pampanga has been logging more than 100 new cases daily. As of April 4, the total confirmed cases in the province reached 10,312, with active cases rising to 1,800. The province has recorded at least 8,000 recoveries and 512 deaths.
Even as President Duterte retained the modified general community quarantine status in Pampanga,Pineda issued Executive Order No. 5, enforcing stricter measures, like a home lockdown, from March 20 to April 15. With PR-Office of the Governor
