El Nido, Palawan — Governor Jose Alvarez announced Friday that the newly built El Nido Community Hospital here will have its own testing facility for COVID-19.
Governor Alvarez, who led the turnover ceremony Friday, said the administration will install a RT-PCR laboratory in the new medical facility to help address the pandemic crisis.
“Ang isolation building sinisimulan ko na. Dito ilalagay ang isang COVID laboratory para sa RT-PCR – hindi rapid test kundi reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction,” Alvarez said.
The turn over of the facility was held by the Palawan Provincial Government and the Department of Health (DOH) Thursday in Barangay Pasadena.
Mayor Edna Gacot-Lim in her message, stressed the importance of the facility in catering to the health needs of the locals, tourists including Calamianes municipalities as this is also timely in a pandemic situation.
“Ang bayan ng El Nido ay isang tourist destination kaya kailangan lang na magkaroon talaga ng standard o first class ospital dito sa lalawigan ng Palawan. Buong puso kaming nagpapasalamat sa provincial government lalo na kay Governor Alvarez na tinupad niya ang kanyang pangako na bago magtapos ang kanyang termino bilang gobernador, magkaroon na tayo ng ospital dito sa bayan ng El Nido,“ Lim said.
Lim said Department of Tourism Secretary Berna Puyat will donate laboratory equipment for the town’s hospital.
“Kahandaan natin ito under new normal. Bibilang na lang tayo ng ilang araw, ang bayan ng El Nido ay magsisimula na i-open natin ang turista para sa bayan,” she added.
The symbolic key and license to operate the new community hospital was handed by Dr. Maria Francia Laxamana, Assistant Secretary of Health and Palawan Governor Jose Chavez Alvarez to municipal Mayor Edna Gacot-Lim and Dr. Mary Ann Navarro, OIC, Chief of Hospital.
The El Nido Community Hospital is an infirmary facility with extended services including an X-ray laboratory. It has a 17-bed capacity to operate initially with emergency care, medical service, out-patient care, surgical service, pharmacy, service ambulance and an isolation building.
