Private sector support boosts Davao City Covid-19 response

Davao City’s response to the pressing needs of the Dabawenyos and the battle to stop the spread of the coronavirus is bolstered by the continued support of the private sector.

Joining the long list of supporters from the private sector is the NCCC Mall VP (Victoria Plaza) which recently handed over a 1,250-square meter facility as a temporary holding area for locally stranded individuals (LSIs) and the Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) awaiting RT-PCR (reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction) results.

The facility called “The Dome” has a 78-bed capacity, complete with beddings, additional lights, a laundry area, and portable toilets installed outside the facility.

Acting Assistant City Administrator for operations lawyer Janis Louis Esparcia said the NCCC management allowed the city government to use the facility free of charge. The city government will only take charge of the utilities.

“NCCC through a memorandum of agreement (MOA), provided the structure with four split-type air conditioning units and allowed the city to make alterations,” Esparcia said.

She said the estimated cost for the NCCC Dome isolation facility is P3 million. It currently has 46 personnel including administrative staff, utility worker, City Health Office (CHO) and security personnel.

The hand over of the Dome is timely as the city intensifies its contact tracing in the communities.

“All individuals identified as possible Covid-19 cases are swabbed and isolated at the NCCC Dome until results come out. They can then re-integrate themselves in the community once found negative for Covid,” Esparcia said.

In a press statement on August 5, 2020, NCCC Malls president Sharlene Faye A. Lim said, “The Dome will be used as an additional holding area for Covid-19 patients in the event the city needs it.”

It is NCCC’s contribution to the city’s efforts to manage the Covid-19 situation.

As of 6 a.m. of August 5, The Dome has 59 guests with 30 beds used. The 29 rooms are reserved for swabbed individuals.

In the early days of the city’s Covid-19 response, the owners of Queensland Inn, La Vida Inn, Emcor/Jesus V. Del Rosario Foundation, Mamay Inn, and the Rizal Memorial Colleges (RMC) also offered their respective facilities to the City for its pandemic response.

To date, the Queensland is back to its owners for their business operation while the Mamay Inn, which has a 197-bed capacity, has 76 guests; the RMC classrooms (75-bed capacity) have seven guests; the RMC Petro Gazz Arena (52-bed capacity) has 19 guests. The 25-bed La Vida Inn is catering to 23 individuals positive of the coronavirus.

Esparcia said other private companies and organizations helped the city with food, water, medical and non-medical supplies for the different Covid-19 centers.

“Partnerships with the private sector will always be welcome but we cannot oblige them to share their resources to fight Covid,” Esparcia said.

Other holding centers are inside the Francisco Bangoy International Airport which can cater to 33 individuals and the tent made by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) that has a 60-bed capacity. The DPWH tent is operational starting August 8, 2020. CIO