TAGUM CITY, Davao del Norte – The City Government of Tagum’s Infectious Disease Isolation Facility is now fully operational as it received its first batch of provisional residents, composed of 17 individuals arrived late evening of May 26.
The group is composed of Overseas Filipino Workers, seafarers, stranded students of the University of Philippines- Los Banos who are part of the “Hatid Probinsiya” program.
Upon disembarking from the vehicles that brought them to the isolation facility in Barangay Canocotan, the group went through a series of processes to ensure that health protocols are followed such as screening for temperature and disinfection, among others.
The 11 adult men and 6 adult women are expected to isolate themselves at the facility for 14 days at the least, and 21 days at the most.
The local government’s City Health Office has informed that three additional persons are slated to arrive at the facility for self-isolation.
Tagum City Mayor Allan Rellon had said the establishment of the Isolation Facility is part of the LGU’s preparation in the event that the Tagum City-located Davao Regional Medical Center overflows with coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) patients.
The Tagum City Infectious Disease Isolation Facility in Canocotan is established as the LGU's preparation in the event the Davao Regional Medical Center overflows with Covid-19 patients. (Vinz Davo/Tagum CIO)
He added that while the facility will give priority to Tagumenyo residents who will become mild Persons Under Investigation, it is poised to accept residents from neighboring towns on a first-come-first-served basis.
The funds for the PHP16.3 million-worth isolation facility were sourced from the LGU’s Development Fund, and a month’s worth of Internal Revenue Allotment share released through the national government’s Bayanihan to Heal as One Act grant.
Inaugurated on May 5, it boasts of 28 single air-conditioned rooms and a PHP7-million portable X-ray machine.
The facility was repurposed from a Regional Evacuation Center of the DPWH to a provisional quarantine shed for the city’s residents tagged as Persons Under Monitoring (PUM) at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. (Richi Gulle/CIO-Tagum)
