APALIT -- In preparation for the possible overflow of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) patients in public and private hospitals, the local government here has identified a quarantine facility for suspect cases.

Municipal Inter-Agency Task Force Spokesperson Glenn Danting said the local government is preparing the utilization of Brother Andrew Gonzalez Technical Highschool (Bagtech) located at the back of the Municipal Hall into a temporary quarantine facility.

"Due to the spike in Covid-19 cases in the province, our referral hospitals have been announcing that they are already in full capacity and cannot cater to incoming patients anymore so we are looking into possible solutions to address the problem," he said.

He explained that home quarantine and isolation should not be an option as some houses do not have enough conducive rooms for such activity.

Danting said Bagtech classrooms will be turned into isolation rooms for suspect cases and close-contacts of positive patients who are awaiting reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test results.

"We are not hopeful that we will be utilizing it as the local government is working hard to minimize the cases, but it is better to be prepared and have the facility when we need it," he said.