Pilot quarantine center for PUMs ready this week

By Dolly Yasa

BACOLOD City – Bacolod City Administrator Em Ang said the pilot quarantine center for Persons Under Monitoring will be ready this week.

PUM is a person who has no signs and symptoms of COVID-19 but has travel history to infected areas and may have been exposed to infected persons.

Ang said that the pilot quarantine center of the city will be at South Hills Academy in Barangay Alijis instead of the Education and Training Center 1 building at the Reclamation Area after the Department of Interior and Local Government said they cannot use the latter.

Ang said the owner agreed to allow the city government to utilize the school as quarantine area. It only needs minor repair works.

Ang said she has already requested the Bacolod City Water District to reconnect water lines to the building after it was disconnected for non-payment of bills.

Mayor Evelio Leonardia said he requested the Central Negros Electric Cooperative to provide electricity to the building for free.

Ang said the pilot quarantine center will have 17 rooms with individual bathroom.

“It will be ready for use within this week,” she said.

The admission for the PUMs is free if they pass a set of criteria.

Ang said seven other sites are being considered as quarantine centers.

She said they will tap the PNP in case PUMs will mob the QC. The city has 1,526 PUMs.

As for Persons Under Investigation (PUIs), Ang said the city is also preparing an isolation center for them.

PUIs are persons with signs and symptoms and have travel history to infected areas.

She said the city has 38 available isolation rooms in different hospitals.

Ang said the building near the Lady of Mercy Hospital has been identified as an isolation center for PUIs with mild symptoms.

The Bacolod Arts and Youth Sports Center will be utilized as respiratory center for outpatient consultation for those suffering from ailments identified with COVID -19 but not necessarily symptoms of the disease.

There are those who would go to the hospitals because of cold and fever, the respiratory center can accommodate them to further decongest our hospitals, Ang said.