BY MERITO G. EDALE JR., PIA
CITY OF ILAGAN, Isabela (April 5)—Due to the increasing number of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) patients here, the city government decided to open its existing health facility to cater to its people who contracted the virus.
Mayor Josemarie Diaz, who led the soft opening yesterday together with other city officials and employees, said the immediate opening of the isolation facility located at the City of Ilagan Medical Center at Barangay Lullutan, is necessary since all the referral hospitals in the region have reached their 100 percent utilization.
In August 2018, the construction of the City of Ilagan Medical Center started. It is a 100-bed capacity hospital that aims to serve Ilagueños at the western part of the city.
In his message, Diaz said the Department of Health has considered Isabela province as a Covid-19 hotspot as it registered a 64 percent increase in its cases from March 21 to April 1, 2021. As of yesterday, the province’s positivity rate was 28 percent which is classified as “very high.”
In the past days, Diaz said the city recorded 119 active cases and 28 Covid-19 related deaths.
The mayor has called on all Ilagueños to strictly follow the health protocols to avoid the deadly disease as spike of cases in the city and other parts of the country is registered.