THE Lapu-Lapu City Government is ready to submit to the Department of Health (DOH) 7 the application for accreditation of the Hoops Dome in Barangay Gun-ob as an isolation facility.
The Hoops Dome was set up as a holding area for coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) patients while they waited to be transferred to an accredited facility. But since the City’s isolation facility has limited space, some Covid-19 patients ended up spending the entire quarantine period at Hoops Dome.
Mayor Junard Chan said that on Tuesday, March 23, 2021, DOH 7 officials told him that the setup at Hoops Dome is similar to the one at the New Oasis for Adaptation and a Home Complex in Cebu City, the biggest isolation center for asymptomatic Covid-19 patients in the city.
The only difference, he said, is that the Hoops Dome facility lacks accreditation.
The mayor said they’ve introduced changes at the holding area since a 36-year-old male overseas Filipino worker (OFW) who was quarantined there died of a heart attack on Friday, March 19.
Chan said it is only normal for people who are cooped up in isolation facilities to suffer from discomfort like diarrhea and other medical ailments.
The important thing is there is someone who can immediately attend to the patients, which is why the City Government assigned more personnel to look after them, he said.
He said they’ve moved the personnel’s station near the door so they can quickly respond to any untoward incident.
They’ve also assigned personnel to clean the facility at Hoops Dome, he said.
Chan said patients at the holding area are now allowed out every day for a certain amount of time so they can get some fresh air.
He said he has ordered the City Health Office to stock up on medicines in case patients will need them.
“When I found out that the facility at Hoops Dome did not have enough drinking water, I personally brought water dispensers for hot and cold water,” he said in Cebuano.
The mayor said he coordinated with Toledo City Mayor Marjorie “Joy” Perales with regard to the burial of the OFW, who was a resident of Toledo City, to make sure they complied with Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases guidelines.
However, he said the OFW’s family had refused his offer to shoulder the burial expenses since they’re still not sure where to bury him.
Meanwhile, Dr. Mary Jean Loreche, DOH 7 spokesperson, said they met with Lapu-Lapu City officials on Wednesday, March 24, to check if the Hoops Dome holding area can qualify as an isolation facility.
She said the Hoops Dome has already been inspected by the DOH 7 licensing team and was advised to just apply for accreditation as a quarantine facility.
“All they need to do is submit the application. They’ve already made some changes at the holding area,” she said in Cebuano.
She said the Lapu-Lapu City College is the only designated isolation facility in the city.
“The City has had a hard time because the college is always full of patients. So those in the holding area at Hoops Dome were forced to spend their entire quarantine period there,” she said in Cebuano. / (GCM, WBS / PJB)