Vax site, temporary hospital soon to rise in Rizal Park

MANILA – A temporary mobile hospital and a drive-through vaccination site will soon rise at the Rizal Park in Manila, the Department of Tourism (DOT) said Wednesday.

The National Parks Development Committee (NPDC), an attached agency of the DOT, unanimously approved the proposal of Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso to construct a temporary mobile hospital at Rizal Park’s Burnham Green, during a board of directors meeting on April 13.

The Manila City Hall committed to design, construct, maintain, and manage the hospital “up to its logical conclusion” at no cost to the national government, the DOT said.

Domagoso also promised to restore the Burnham Green area to its original condition.

During the meeting, the NPDC also approved the construction of a temporary drive-through vaccination site at the Independence Road (Parade Grounds) of the Quirino Grandstand, which will be located beside the drive-through RT-PCR testing facility managed by the City of Manila and the NPDC.

The drive-through testing, launched in July 2020, provided rapid-serology tests for up to 700 people daily, five days a week before it was converted into an RT-PCR testing site on January 18.

“Through the temporary mobile hospital that will be constructed in Rizal Park and the drive-(through) vaccination site at the Quirino Grandstand, the DOT has repurposed its tourism sites to support the current efforts to protect the public’s health and safety during this crisis. These facilities will be open to all, not just the residents of Manila,” Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said.

The mobile hospital will be open to everyone and will cater to patients with mild to moderate symptoms of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), she added.

The temporary drive-through vaccination site is expected to accommodate 350 to 400 persons per day.

“Rizal Park, Luneta is one of the largest urban open parks in the National Capital Region and is also a major tourist destination. As such, it has served as a venue in assisting the public by converting its areas into evacuation sites, processing sites for Locally Stranded Individuals, barracks for the military in times of war, and even a military hospital during the Spanish colonial era,” the DOT said.

Recently, the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of the Emerging Infectious Diseases has also approved the DOT’s proposal to construct a drive-through vaccination site at Nayong Pilipino in Parañaque City, which will have an estimated capacity to accommodate 12,000 persons daily.