ILOILO City – The city government has designated Iloilo Central Elementary School and Mabini Elementary School in the City Proper as isolation facilities for persons under monitoring (PUMs) and patients under investigation (PUIs) for possible coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection.
“Waay na kita lugar nga pwede butangan sang isolation patients. Kon indi kita magbutang sa mga eskwelahan I do not know where we can put them,” said Mayor Jerry Treñas.
Iloilo Central Elementary School started accepting PUIs and PUMs on Monday, according to Dr. Roland Jay Fortuna, the city’s focal person on COVID-19.
As of this this writing, there were one PUI and one PUM in the school.
A PUM is a person with a history of travel to an area with COVID-19 cases but not showing signs and symptoms of the disease.
A PUI, on the other hand, is a person showing suspected COVID-19 symptoms.
Fortuna said Iloilo Central Elementary School will be transformed into a 50-bed capacity isolation area.
PUMs will be separated from and PUIs, he stressed.
As of March 24, Iloilo City has one confirmed COVID-19 case (currently isolated at The Medical City in Molo distriuct), 50 PUIs and 2,120 PUMs.
Of the 2,120 PUMs, 1,581 are actively being monitored, 440 already completed the 14-day quarantine while 39 are “lost to follow up,” said Fortuna.
“Ang mga PUMs nga indi gid kaya sang household i-handle, didto ta ibutang sa schools. Ang mga PUMs nga stranded nga wala ilistaran didto ta man ibutang, and those PUMs nga madakpan nga wala gid ya gapati nga mag-quarantine,” said Fortuna.
Since PUMs are asymptomatic, Fortuna said, they could share rooms provided they observe social distancing.
Also, PUIs with mild symptoms and no co-morbidity will be accommodated in the isolation facilities.
The PUMs and PUIs in the schools will be monitored by Barangay Health Emergency Response Team.
The City Health Office will be deploying medical teams in the schools, too, said Fortuna.
“Their needs from water to food and other basic necessities will be provided by the city government,” Fortuna said.
More schools are being eyed as isolation facilities for a combined target of 1,000 beds, said Fortuna./PN
