DPWH to build offsite modular hospitals for COVID-19 patients

ILIGAN CITY, Sep. 8 (PIA) - The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) continues to lead the government's efforts in putting up healthcare facilities across the country in response to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

During the Laging Handa Virtual Network Briefing on Monday, September 7, DPWH Undersecretary Emil Sadain said they plan to establish offsite modular hospitals in response to the lack of ICU bed capacities in hospitals.

He said the first offsite modular hospital they were going to build will be in the Quezon Institute (QI) compound where it will have a 110-ICU bed capacity.

According to him, QI offsite modular hospital will be managed by the Department of Health and will cater to patients with moderate and severe cases.

"We are preparing to start within this month in QI, we will also build an offsite hospital in the Lung Center of the Philippines, Jose Reyes Memorial Hospital, and we are studying putting up one at Amang Rodriguez Memorial Hospital in Marikina," he said.

Sadain, who heads the DPWH Task Force to Facilitate Augmentation of Local and National Health Facilities, also reported that DPWH has already completed 340 quarantine and isolation facilities across the country while 262 more are set to be finished by the end of September until early October.

A cubicle at the Brgy. Poblacion Isolation Facility built by the DPWH for Iligan City. (PIA-ICIC)

He said these 602 quarantine and isolation facilities which will cater to mild and asymptomatic COVID-19 patients have a 23,000-bed capacity.

In Iligan City, the DPWH has turned over a 40-bed capacity quarantine facility located in Barangay Poblacion to Iligan City Mayor Celso G. Regencia on August 26 to help curb the spread of coronavirus in the city.

Two (2) similar multi-purpose buildings located in  Barangay Acmac and Barangay Tomas Cabili Iligan were also converted by DPWH into quarantine facilities each with 40-bed cubicles each.

These facilities will provide not only the much-needed treatment of COVID-19 patients but also the proper care of locally stranded individuals and returning overseas Filipinos undergoing a mandatory 14-day period of self-isolation for the protection of their families. (APB/PIA-ICIC)

Source: Philippines Information Agency (pia.gov.ph)