Amid a surge in coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases here and in neighboring localities in Cebu province, the Catholic Church has allowed the reopening of its facility as a patient care center for those with mild and moderate symptoms.

In a statement on Wednesday, Presidential Assistant for the Visayas Secretary Michael Lloyd Dino said Archbishop Jose Palma agreed to the use of the International Eucharistic Congress Convention Center (IC3) for the isolation and treatment of individuals tested positive for Covid-19.

“In response to the ongoing Covid-19 surge and in prudent preparation for threats of other variant-driven surges that may affect Cebu and its neighboring provinces, the Office of the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas (OPAV), extends its heartfelt gratitude and sincere appreciation to the Archdiocese of Cebu, through His Excellency Archbishop Jose S. Palma, for allowing the free use of the IC3 Convention Center property of the Cebu Archdiocese as a temporary treatment monitoring and isolation facility (TTMF), to provide medical care and assistance for mild and moderate Covid-19 patients,” Dino said.

Starting on Tuesday, the IC3 facility operates under a multi-party collaboration, to be managed and operated by the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC).

The city government here, OPAV, the Inter-Agency Task Force for Emerging Diseases – Visayas (IATF-Visayas), the Department of Health – Region 7 (DOH-7) and volunteer private sector partners such as the Project Balik Buhay collaborate for the center’s operation.

The center, which will be opened until Jan. 31, 2023, has made available 120 beds for Covid-19 patients who are asymptomatic, or with mild and moderate symptoms.

The facility, Dino said, will help augment the healthcare capacity of Cebu, as the current Covid-19 capacity utilization rates (CCUR) in both public and private hospitals in Cebu remain at high levels due to the ongoing Omicron variant-driven Covid-19 surge.

Dino said the IC3 patient care center will help decongest the local hospitals.

“(They can now) focus more on the treatment of severe and critical Covid-19 patients, while expeditiously providing proper medical care for patients with mild to moderate symptoms, especially for those who might be unable to self-isolate at home due to damages caused by the recent typhoon,” he said.

The IC3 was also previously used as patient care facility after Cebu experienced a surge in cases at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. It was closed last year at the start of the national vaccination rollout and the facility was transformed into an inoculation site for economic front-liners. (PNA)