The City Hall of Zamboanga. (PNA file photo)
ZAMBOANGA CITY – The city government here will continue to operate its PHP134 million mega isolation facility despite the declaration of the World Health Organization that coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) is no longer a global health emergency.
Dr. Elmeir Jade Apolinario, city disaster risk reduction and management office (CDRRMO) chief, said Thursday the city has been directed by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) to maintain the isolation facility for quarantine purposes.
“We are directed to maintain that mega isolation facility as a Covid-19 isolation facility for the constituents of Zamboanga City,” Apolinario said.
The 320-room isolation facility is located inside the Zamboanga Economic Zone and Freeport Authority in Barangay Talisayan here and is being manned by city health office personnel.
“We also regularly send CDRRMO personnel to inspect the facility,” he added.
Other Covid-19 isolation facilities located in Barangays Cabatangan, Sinunuc, Zone 4, and Pasonanca were already shut down.
Meanwhile, Dr. Joshua Brillantes, the Department of Health-Zamboanga Peninsula (DOH-9) director, said the region has been placed under low-risk status for Covid-19 infection.
He noted that some hospitals in the region have converted their Covid-19 isolation wards to regular wards.
“They can already accept non-Covid patients,” he said. (PNA)
