ISOLATION facilities will be upgraded to serve as step-down facilities, temporary treatment and monitoring facilities (TTMF) will be reactivated, and elective medical procedures will be put on hold.
These are among the measures that the Department of Health (DOH) 7 will take to prevent congestion in hospitals as cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) continue to increase in Cebu.
Dr. Jaime Bernadas, DOH 7 director, on Monday, July 19, 2021, said they will upgrade the 80-bed isolation facility built by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) 7 at the South Road Properties (SRP) into a step-down facility that will cater to mild cases and patients recovering from the disease.
“It has already been reactivated, the TTMF of the DPWH. We will just upgrade it into a step-down facility by putting more equipment, establishing a mini-laboratory, setting up of x-ray facility,” he said.
“So, immediately we can do that in the DPWH facility. Basin ugma dayon sugod na na siya (maybe, we can do that tomorrow),” he added.
He also said they were reviewing the status of isolation facilities and TTMFs to determine which facilities are still in use.
The DPWH financed the construction of 11 isolation facilities for Covid-19 patients and off-site dormitories for medical frontliners last year.
Of these, seven new isolation facilities and quarantine centers are expected to add 301 beds for mild Covid-19 patients.
Bernadas also said they agreed during their recent meeting that beginning July 19, all elective surgery will be postponed to allow hospitals to prioritize emergency procedures and Covid-19 cases.
“This is temporary. It’s just to establish a free-flowing hospital emergency room,” he said.