Iloilo City focal person on Covid-19, Dr. Roland Jay Fortuna, said, as of Monday, Iloilo Central Elementary School in the city’s City Proper district has been operational as an isolation facility for patients under investigation and persons under monitoring for the coronavirus disease, or Covid-19. Mabini Elementary School, also in the City Proper district, was also identified as an isolation facility.

Mayor Jerry P. Treñas said he wrote a letter to the Department of Education saying the city had no available facilities to house the individuals in question, noting, “I do not know where we can put them.”

Meanwhile, Fortuna explained Iloilo Central Elementary School can accommodate 50 beds where those under monitoring will be separated from patients under investigation.

He added, the isolation facilities will be monitored by Barangay Health Emergency Response Teams and the City Health Office (CHO), along with a deployed health team including nurses.

“All their personal needs [such as] water, food, and other necessities are provided by the city government,” the city official assured.

CHO is currently assessing the bed capacity of Mabini Elementary School.

As of March 24, Iloilo City has one confirmed coronavirus case, 50 patients under investigation, and 2,120 persons under monitoring./WDJ