Triaging of returning Baguio residents and potential visitors will be more convenient following the upcoming operation of the city’s centralized triage center at the Baguio Convention Center (BCC) by September 16, 2020.
City Administrator Bonifacio dela Peña said the put up of the triage center is now in its finishing touches while the assigned personnel and units of equipment will be transferred from the Saint Vincent Gymnasium to the center’s new site this week.
He added the new centralized center will be operational 24 hours and will be fully lighted aside from having sufficient parking of motor vehicles and a wide waiting area.
Further, the city administrator disclosed there will also 3 triage booths to accommodate 9 individuals each apart from the triage personnel to ensure the strict observance of physical distancing among individuals who will be triage as they wait for their turn to undergo the required checkup.
In addition, he stated the triage center for returning Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) at the Roxas Hall of the Baguio Teachers Camp has been transferred to the Benitez Hall which is much spacious and with sufficient parking spaces not only for parking but also as waiting area for the individuals undergoing triage.
Mayor Benjamin B. Magalong said the city government will maintain the operation of the two triage centers so that there will be an alternative triage center as back up if overcrowding occurs in either of the centers, especially when the city will open the registration for tourists from Region I by September 22, 2020.
He requested the City Health Services Office (CHSO) to assign the personnel to manage the triage centers to prevent unnecessary complaints among the clients.
The mayor explained that at the triage centers, health professionals will assess the situation of certain individual wanting to enter the city for various purposes whether they will have to be tested for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) or be allowed to enter the city.
He said the new centralized triage center will be easier to access as it is now within the heart of the city to ensure that individuals needing to be triaged will undergo the process without unnecessary delays, especially when their vehicles will be stuck in traffic while en route to the existing triage center.
Adjacent the centralized triage center is a 16-bed isolation facility being constructed by the public works department for individuals who need to be immediately isolated upon the recommendation of health authorities managing the center to prevent them from spreading the virus.
The city government spent for the put up of the city’s centralized triage center while the public works department provided for the much-needed funds for the construction of the new isolation unit within the BCC grounds. By Dexter A. See