The use of isolation facilities for coronavirus disease 2019 patients in Bacolod City has continually decreased in recent weeks as more villages have been declared COVID-free.
As of Wednesday, Nov. 4, at least two isolation facilities located at Luisa Medel National High School and at Bata Elementary School are under-utilized, the Bacolod City Emergency Operations Center Task Force reported.
City Administrator Em Ang, EOC-TF executive director and deputy for administration and operations, said that with the declining occupancy, they are planning to implement a one-to-one patient-to-room accommodation ratio to further curb local transmission.
Latest data showed that of 576 beds, only 84 are being currently occupied, leaving 492 beds vacant. This translates to availability of 85 percent of beds at the facilities.
Dr. Anna Maria Laarni Pornan, EOC deputy for medical, said the utilization rate of the isolation facilities in Bacolod public schools peaked at only 15 percent on Tuesday.
Councilor Renecito Novero, chair of the Quarantine Centers Action Team, said the city now has enough beds available compared to two months ago.
“We were worried then that we might not have enough rooms due to the overwhelming number of people who need to be isolated,” he said.
Meanwhile, from an initial 19, already 28 of the 61 barangays here have remained COVID-free for the past 14 days.
These included Barangays 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12, 14, 15, 17, 18, 20, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 30, 31, 34, 36, 37, 38, 41, Felisa, Montevista, and Alangilan.
The data indicate that 45.9 percent or almost half of the city’s barangays are without local transmissions for two weeks.
“I hope the increasing number of barangays that are COVID-free will continue,” Ang said, adding that the increase or decrease in the number of cases in Bacolod still depends on the people’s cooperation with local policies and observance of minimum health protocols.
“Mass gatherings or celebrations like birthdays are common venues for the spread of COVID-19. Based on the reports of the EOC, there is a pattern of infections during these gatherings. We have to be vigilant and careful so we can maintain the decline in the number of COVID cases,” she added. – NLG
