The Department of Education (DepEd) has identified 13 public schools that will be converted as temporary isolation facilities to help the city government address the shortage amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.

City School Division Superintendent Roy Tuballa said Monday the move is in response to the request of Mayor Maria Isabelle Climaco-Salazar to address the shortage of isolation facilities.

The list of schools has been submitted to the local Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) Covid-19 to assess and evaluate the facilities, Tuballa said.

“We have criteria to follow in choosing the school to be used as isolation facility. These include steady water supply, lighting, and accessibility to major thoroughfare to include the airport,” Tuballa said.

However, he said it will be the DepEd regional director who will determine whether or not to grant the mayor’s request.

“While DepEd needs to operate in this pandemic, we need also to help the necessities of the LGU (local government unit) kasi we have to be partners with them, we want to be part of the solution and not part of the problem. Anything we do at this time it boils down to ‘bayanihan’ and Zamboanga City Division will help because nothing is impossible,” he said.

This city’s Covid-19 tracker showed that the city currently has 1,566 confirmed cases with 1,072 recoveries, 420 active cases, and 74 deaths. (PNA)