THE government is set to construct a quarantine facility to house people contracted with contagious and dreaded diseases.

Dr. Omar Aranan, Bureau of Quarantine-Zamboanga Station head, said the facility will be constructed on a 2,577 square meters lot in Kasanyangan Village, this city, which the Department of Health (DOH) has already purchased.

Aranan said the facility will have isolation and inspection rooms, waiting area, and open space can accommodate around 2,000 patients suffering from new disease of international emergency like the dreaded coronavirus disease (Covid-19), which emanated in Wuhan City, Hubei province, China.

He said the facility, which will cost around P80 million, will benefit not only residents of this city but of the entire region as well.

The World Health Organization (WHO) announced that there are 46,997 confirmed cases of Covid-19 globally as off February 13, this year. Of the total, the WHO said that 46,550 confirmed cases of Covid-19 are recorded in China with 1,368 deaths.

The Covid-19 is a new strain of coronavirus not previously identified in humans. It affects the respiratory tract. (SunStar Zamboanga)