MANDAUE City’s new quarantine facility is ready for operation as the city begins mass testing for the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) on Wednesday, May 6, 2020.

The quarantine facility at the Mandaue City Central School (MCCS) is equipped with negative air pressure — a kind of ventilation that prevents contaminated air from going out of the room.

It also has an alarm bell system installed in each ward for patients in need of assistance from the nurses.

The facility still lacks ventilators, the machine that helps patients breathe, and CCTV monitoring cameras; but Mandaue City officials said it can now start to accommodate up to 1,700 patients.

Accompanied by nurses who will be assigned in the facility, Mandaue City Councilor Nerissa Soon-Ruiz, chairperson of the Committee on Health, and John Eddu Ibañez, executive secretary of Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes, visited the new quarantine center on Tuesday, May 5.

Ruiz said 12 nurses and other medical staff will be deployed in the facility to handle its first 100 patients.

“We are ready,” said Ruiz who is also a doctor.

The MCCS facility will be used as isolation area for those found positive for Covid-19 during the city’s rapid testing even while they would still need to undergo a confirmatory swab.

While waiting for the swab result, the patient will be placed in a holding area in a building located within the MCCS compound.

If the swab yields a positive result, that patient will be moved to the ward allotted for Covid-19 positive patients.

Mild to moderate symptomatic cases will be confined at the MCCS main building; those who are asymptomatic will be placed in the building beside it.

To limit contact between nurses and patients, Ruiz said patients will be required to take their own temperature using a thermometer that will be placed on a table at the MCCS stage.