The Philippine National Police (PNP) is looking for more isolation facilities for its personnel who will contract the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).
Lt. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar, PNP deputy chief for administration and Administrative Support for Covid-19 Task Force (ASCOTF) chief, said they want to intensify their contingency measures amid the continuous rise of coronavirus infections in the organization.
ASCOTF commanders will coordinate with Regional Health Service and Regional Logistics offices to provide the necessary equipment and other materials needed for the new isolation facilities.
“We need to be prepared at all times to ensure the welfare of our personnel who would be infected by the virus. As front-liners in the fight to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, our personnel are risking their health safety, and even their lives in the performance of their mandate. The least that we could do is to assure them that we would be there for them and extend all the necessary support if in case they are infected,” Eleazar said.
Active cases at the PNP are at 2,157 as of Sunday.
On March 26, the PNP recorded its highest Covid-19 daily tally with 316 cases.
Of the total active infections, 1,255 are in PNP-owned and managed isolation facilities while 840 are in PNP isolation facilities, particularly in local government units.
The other 62 are confined in private and public hospitals.
Of 1,159 active cases in 17 Police Regional Offices (PROs), the highest number was at the National Capital Region Police Office with 564 while Bangsamoro has the lowest with five.
All PROs have active cases.
In terms of the general distribution of the 2,157 active cases, 492 of the active cases are inside Camp Crame, or 22.8 percent of the total, while 801 cases, or 37.1 percent, are in the provinces.
“This means that in Metro Manila alone, we have a total of 1,356 active cases which is 62.9 percent of the total active cases in the PNP,” Eleazar said.
Eleazar said immediate and full support system for PNP personnel infected by the coronavirus is necessary not only to prevent the spread of the virus in the police organization but also to assure a high recovery rate.
“Since last year, the full support system for our personnel has resulted in the high recovery rate for the PNP. Based on our data, more than 12,200 of the 14,456 cases in the PNP were able to fully recover,” he added.
At the national headquarters, Eleazar said they have set up more isolation facilities, including a 100-bed capacity at the tennis court and at the Provident Fund/Peace Process and Development Office with 47 beds, both already operational over the weekend.
A 40-bed facility will be available at the taekwondo gym by April 1. (PNA)
