On April 8th, 2021, Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) General Manager Jay Daniel Santiago reveal plans to convert existing quarantine facilities into COVID-19 isolation centers. This announcement took place among surging cases in the country’s National Capital Region and other nearby provinces.
Santiago talked about how important it is to “recognize the need to augment our current health care system.” The two facilities he spoke of included one from the Philippine Ports Authority and another from the Department of Transportation.
Santiago further emphasized the need to help healthcare workers, who remain among the most at-risk for COVID-19 infections due to the nature of their work. The facilities are noted to already have the right equipment to deal with future cases.
One such facility used to be the Eva Macapagal Super Terminal and was found in Pier 15. It presently has 211 cubicles, each distributed in various zones to better accommodate patients of different case severity.
The other facility, the Port Capinpin Quarantine Facility located in Orion, Bataan, can claim a capacity of 124 beds. Those encompasses 25 cubicles, all of which are intended for high-risk cases.
The latter facility also comes with a fully-equipped nurse station and two rooms, each with 12 bunk beds. Said rooms are for the allotted use of medical frontliners.
The facility conversion was made possible due to donations provided by the Lopez Group of Companies. Santiago intended for the facilities to be operational as early as April 9, 2021, with strict health protocols already in place.