The Marikina City government formally received its biggest quarantine facility from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
DPWH Secretary Mark Villar personally turned over to Marikina Mayor Marcelino Teodoro the newly-completed 136-bed capacity quarantine facility for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients located along Kabayani Road in Barangay Nangka in a simple ceremony.
The facility consists of 37 container vans converted into isolation rooms, with each container van accommodating four individual rooms equipped with an air-conditioning system, beds, and toilets.
The facility, which was completed recently, also has rooms for healthcare workers, medical equipment, and medical doctors and nurse stations.
With an additional facility, Marikina City now has eight COVID-19 emergency quarantine facilities—three in Amang Rodriguez Memorial Medical Center; one in Marikina Hotel; one in Marikina Convention Center; one bunker; and one in Marikina Sports Center.
“With this facility, we will further lessen the number of cases of COVID-19,” Villar said in his speech.
The public works chief noted that such a project would not be possible without the 100 percent support from the city government, which provided the land for the quarantine facility.
“It is an honor for me to be here with one of the mayors I admire. Mayor Marcy is one of the most progressive mayors in the country. Non-stop talaga ang effort ni Mayor Teodoro sa (Mayor Marcy’s efforts are non-stop in terms of) COVID-19 response,” the public works head said.
“Mayor Marcy, your city is the first to have a COVID-19 testing laboratory. You are always thinking one step ahead.”
“Mayor Marcy, your city is the first to have a COVID-19 testing laboratory. You are always thinking one step ahead. You have a progressive and visionary leadership here in Marikina,” he added.
Since the start of the pandemic, the mayor has underscored the importance of building a robust and resilient health delivery system in Marikina so the city can swiftly respond to health emergencies, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Through everyone’s cooperation, as we have a whole-of-government – a whole-of-community approach, we can see the flattening of the curve COVID-19 in Metro Manila.”
“Sa pagkakataong ito, ang mga quarantine at treatment facilities na mayroon tayo ngayon dito, sa ilalim ng programa ng ating Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte – Bayanihan to Heal as One ay tunay na mapapakinabangan ng lahat. Patuloy ang laban natin sa COVID-19. Totoo na unti-unti, sa pagtutulungan ng lahat, as we have a whole-of-government – a whole-of-community approach, nakikita natin ang pag-flatten ng curve ng COVID-19 sa Metro Manila (At this time, all quarantine and treatment facilities that we have right now are under the program of President Rodrigo Duterte – Bayanihan to Heal as One – which would really benefit everyone. Our battle against COVID-19 continues. True enough, through everyone’s cooperation, as we have a whole-of-government – a whole-of-community approach, we can see the flattening of the curve COVID-19 in Metro Manila),” he said.
Teodoro assured that the quarantine facility is compliant with the health and safety standards to avoid the transmission of the virus in the community, and protect the people from the disease.
“Sa mga pasilidad na ito ay mararamdaman natin na nandito ang pamahalaan; narito ang isang komunidad na nagtutulong-tulong laban sa COVID-19. (Through these facilities, we feel that there is a government on our side. There is a community that works together against COVID-19),” he added.
In response to the need for conducting COVID-19 testing, Marikina City was the first local government unit in the National Capital Region (NCR) to build its own molecular diagnostics laboratory capable of conducting reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests or swab test.
RT-PCR is considered the “gold standard” for COVID-19 testing due to its high accuracy of detecting if a person has been infected with SARS-COV-2.
The city government has also foreseen the importance of establishing its own molecular diagnostic laboratory to boost its COVID-19 testing efforts and speed up the releasing of test results in order to stem the spread of the dreaded disease in the community and save precious lives.
Other officials present during the ceremony were DPWH-NCR Regional Director Ador Canlas and District Engr. Medel Chua, of Metro Manila 1st District Engineering Office.