MMDA mulls conversion of quarantine facility into national vaccination center

MANILA, Philippines — The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) is planning to offer its own quarantine facility to the government to become a national COVID-19 vaccination center, the agency reported on Friday (January 22).
The isolation facility, located at the agency’s headquarters in Makati, was established last May 2020 for MMDA employees who need to undergo a mandatory 14-day quarantine.
MMDA said that the conversion of the 800 square meter facility will help the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) to expedite the distribution and administration of the vaccines as it plans to roll out the inoculation program next month.
“The MMDA quarantine facility is open for any national government agency that needs a place to efficiently roll out the anti-COVID-19 vaccination program,” said MMDA Chairman Benhur Abalos.
“We are always willing to lend assistance to stop the transmission of disease at the soonest time possible so we can go back to normal again,” he added.
Abalos also shared his plan to have all the agency’s employees undergo a monthly RT-PCR swab test to ensure their health and safety.
“Our personnel’s welfare is our topmost priority. We need to make sure that they are safe from the dangers of COVID-19. This is one of our ways to help the national government in curbing the spread of the disease,” Abalos said. MNP / Raymund David