The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) quickly mobilized the conversion of Alonte Sports Arena in Biñan, Laguna in respond to the urgent and burgeoning need for healthcare facilities.
Citing a report from Undersecretary and DPWH Task Force for Augmentation of Health Facilities head Emil K. Sadain, Secretary Mark A. Villar said that the quarantine facility will have a total of 68 bed cubicles and will cater to patients from the province of Laguna and other areas from the Southern Tagalog Region.
To hasten the build process, Undersecretary Sadain together with Department of Health (DOH) Assistant Secretary Leonita P. Gorgolon, DPWH Region 4A Assistant Director Jovel Mendoza and other Region 4A District Engineers conducted on Thursday, May 21, 2020 the punch listing of tasks and items that need to be fixed or completed before the on-going ‘We Heal As One Center’ at Alonte Sports Arena can be considered finished.
The repurposing of Alonte Sports Arena into quarantine center under the supervision of DPWH Regional Office 4A is targeted to be turned-over by Monday, May 25, 2020 to the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID).
The facility which will have nursing stations, sanitation chambers, and designated storage areas is in line with the government’s effort to make sure that additional makeshift hospitals are available for possible COVID-19 patients in other areas outside Metro Manila.
Once completed, the Alonte Sports Arena will be the 10th mega quarantine facility to help ensure that the transmission of the COVID-19 disease can be better controlled.