The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in Ilocos Norte will be opening its extension isolation facility on Thursday with 60 cubicles for patients infected with coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) in Ilocos Norte province.

After conducting an ocular inspection, Dr. Rhina Corpuz, provincial quarantine facility head, on Wednesday said the DPWH extension isolation facility is equipped with an air-conditioning unit, electric fan, and hospital bed per cubicle.

“We hope to inaugurate the facility tomorrow as the isolation facilities of the different local government units with increased infections are getting full,” she said.

In San Nicolas town, Corpuz reported that the provincial government-run Takuat Training Center which has been earlier converted as an isolation facility is almost full after the surge of Covid-19 infections in the municipality since last week.

As of this posting, most of the 78 current active cases in San Nicolas were isolated at Saint Nick’s and its Mothering Center — as these were converted as isolation facilities of the local government unit.

Should more patients need to be isolated, the DPWH additional isolation facility can cater to male patients, with at least four nurses on duty and utility workers to be assigned there for a week.

Another batch of nurses will take over the following week to give them time to self-quarantine after their 7-day straight duty.

Corpuz said the isolated patients who will stay in these designated isolation facilities need not worry as they will be provided with free meals three times a day including snacks and vitamins courtesy of the provincial government and concerned local government unit.

Overall, the provincial government has 11 quarantine facilities and two isolation facilities. These are the newly-improved DPWH and Takuat Training Center facilities that can accommodate a total of 114 residents. (PNA)