No hospital beds? Part of Luneta being converted into COVID-19 hospital with flexibility for more beds
MANILA, Philippines — The construction of Manila COVID-19 Field Hospital in Rizal Park has begun.
According to a DZMM Teleradyo report earlier today, the container vans already arrived in Burnham Green in Rizal Park, the open space in front of Quirino Grandstand.
Recently, the Department of Tourism (DOH) and National Parks and Development Committee (NPDC) gave the green light to Manila Mayor Isko Moreno to build the Manila COVID-19 Field Hospital in anticipation of COVID-19 surge in the country.
According to Moreno, the establishment is a full hospital and not just an isolation facility.
Dr. Arnold Pangan, director of Manila City Health Department, added that the hospital will be constructed 24 hours a day so it will be finished in two months.
Below are some of the features of the hospital:
- The hospital has a 336 bed capacity
- It has its own medical quarters for staff
- Free services for mild and moderate patients
- The design is scalable so it can add more beds if needed
The hospital is in front of temporary drive-thru vaccination site at the Independence Road (Parade Grounds) of the Quirino Grandstand. The vaccination site will be located beside the drive-thru RT-PCR (Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction) testing facility managed by the City of Manila together with NPDC.
Drive-through testing was launched on July 20 last year and that provided rapid-serology tests for up to 700 individuals daily, five days a week. It was converted into RT-PCR testing last January 18.
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