CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (PIA)--JR Borja General Hospital (JRBGH) opened some rooms of their 60-bed COVID-19 Emerging-Reemerging Infectious Diseases (EREID) ward enclosure on the third and fourth floor of their Southwing Pimentel building, August 16.

"We held a blessing and simple opening rites for the hospital’s COVID-19 enclosure (Monday morning). We converted the TB (tuberculosis) ward into a COVID-19 ward (on the third floor)," Mayor Oscar Moreno said.

The COVID-19 ward enclosure is located in a separate building detached from the main hospital complex. The city government originally planned it for a TB ward but since there are no TB patients, the hospital converted it for COVID-19 patients.

He added that with the improvements, moderate COVID-19 patients who had to stay at the grounds of the city-owned JR Borja General Hospital for lack of space will soon be admitted inside.

Even before a video and photos of moderate COVID-19 patients lined up at the side of JR Borja hospital went viral on social media, Moreno reiterated that JRBGH had to expand from being a Level One hospital into a ‘hospital of last resort’ for mild to moderate COVID-19 patients.

This development came due to high admission rates of COVID-19 patients at the Northern Mindanao Medical Center (NMMC) and the city’s public and private hospitals.

"At the fourth floor of the Pimentel building (which is still under construction), we can accommodate 60 COVID-19 patients," Moreno said.
The third floor will house 20 to 30 patients since it has five to six rooms with each room containing four to five cubicles.
Moreno appealed for patience and understanding from the public as they strive to fast track completion of the COVID-19 wards.

"Hopefully the fourth floor will be completed within this week or next week. I’m thankful to the City Engineering Office and the management of JR Borja General Hospital for fast tracking completion of the COVID-19 enclosure," Moreno said. (CIO/PIA-10)