TABUK CITY, Kalinga– The city’s new isolation unit funded by the local government will be partially operational by the end of March providing additional beds for individuals required by health authorities to undergo isolation after having contracted the dreaded Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).
Mayor Darwin C. Estrañero reported that the first phase of the project with a total of 38 beds is now on its final touches with the installation of air conditioning units and will be ready by the end of the month or early April depending on the results of the inspection by the city’s technical personnel.
Further, he added that the second and third phases of the project will be completed by the second or third week of April to make the 100-bed isolation unit ready for occupancy by suspected and probable COVID cases from the city’s 43 barangays.
The local chief executive claimed that the 100-bed isolation unit will be crucial in the city’s capacity in providing adequate quarantine and isolation beds to individuals recommended to undergo the required 14-day isolation.
Earlier, the local government earmarked some P25 million from funds to put up the new isolation unit that will form part of the city’s overall anti-COVID response because of the increase in the number of confirmed COVID cases in the city daily over the past several days.
According to him, the zone-type isolation unit will definitely provide comfort for those individuals confined in the facility because it will have a park complete with landscaping to help ease the difficulties they have while completing the required isolation period.
He pointed out that the construction of the city’s additional isolation facility within a city-owned property is part of the local government’s commitment in responding to the call for local governments to step up their respective anti-COVID response operations to contain the surge in the number of cases in the country.
Mayor Estrañero averred that the local government has been steadfast in responding to the serious negative effects of the global pandemic for over a year now and that the city will continue to ensure it will remain focused in responding to any situation in the future, especially with the existence of the various variants of the virus, to protect the health and safety of the residents.
Tabuk is one of the local governments that provided local funds for the construction of its 100-bed capacity isolation unit and the put up of its own molecular laboratory that will contribute in the overall efforts of the government to continue reducing the turnaround time in the release of swab test results as the swab specimens will no longer have to be brought to other areas with such facilities to undergo the required tests. By HENT
