BY CHRYSEE G. SAMILLANO
The national government-funded regional evacuation center (REC) in Vista Alegre, Bacolod City is being converted by the Emergency Operations Center into an additional isolation/quarantine facility for COVID-19 positive patients.
The P33.7 million facility was originally built to accommodate evacuees who are victims of fire, typhoon and other calamities.
EOC executive director Em Ang yesterday said they have inspected the REC which is a new facility and is big enough to accommodate more COVID-19 patients.
Because of the pandemic, the project is being converted into an isolation facility so the city could discontinue the use of public schools before the May elections since some of them will be used by the Commission on Elections as polling places.
Ang said that since the number of COVID-19 positive patients being isolated are decreasing, the city would probably discontinue the use of public schools as isolation facilities especially as most patients are asymptomatic while those who are fully vaccinated are home quarantined.
Hopefully, the number of COVID cases will continue to drop after the surge and no new variant will be discovered, she said.*
