ISOLATION FACILITY. The Leyte Academic Center gymnasium in Palo, Leyte (shown here in this undated photo) is being prepared as isolation facility for suspected and confirmed coronavirus carriers. The isolation area, which can accommodate 100 patients, is funded through the Bayanihan grant, the national government’s assistance for local government’s health crisis response and relief. (PNA photo by Roel Amazona)
PALO, Leyte – The Leyte provincial government will complete this week the preparation of the provincial coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) isolation area inside the Leyte Academic Center (LAC) gymnasium here.
The isolation area, which can accommodate 100 patients, is funded through the Bayanihan grant, the national government’s assistance for local government’s Covid-19 response and relief.
Governor Leopoldo Dominico Petilla said on Wednesday that they have selected LAC as a site for the provincial isolation center because of its huge enclosed space and accessibility.
“This is to prepare if there is a surge of Covid-19 patients in the province, but we are hoping that we will not use this facility,” Petilla told reporters.
The isolation facility has separate areas for female and male patients and for Covid-19 suspected and positive patients. It has a disinfection section and a nurse station.
Petilla said at least 24 towns in the province have already identified and established a local Covid-19 isolation area.
“This will not guarantee that we will not be infected by Covid-19 because even in areas with strict border control have cases. That is why we have to prepare for the worst and we are confident that we have protocols like wearing a face mask and observe social distancing to prevent the spread of the virus,” Petilla said.
Leyte province has two positive Covid-19 patients. Both are from Burauen town, a 58-year-old with travel history to Guam and Manila currently admitted at the Eastern Visayas Regional Medical Center (EVRMC), and her 24-year-old niece confined at the Burauen District Hospital.
The provincial government is also strengthening the capacity of provincial and district hospitals to treat infectious diseases. (PNA)
