Subic mega facility for Covid-19 treatment and monitoring launched

Government officials on Wednesday (April 14) inaugurated a treatment and monitoring facility for patients infected with the new coronavirus disease (Covid-19) at the former Cubi Hospital complex, a sprawling, gated compound deep in the forest of Ilanin East here.

The “We Heal As One Center”, which was designed to increase the country’s healthcare system surge capacity and allow hospitals In Manila to care for patients with medium to severe symptoms, is housed at the 12-hectare campus of The Manila Times College of Subic, Inc., which includes the former U.S. Naval Hospital.

This Covid-19 wellness center and temporary treatment and monitoring facility is an inter-agency cooperation project of the Department of Health (DOH), Office of Civil Defense (OCD), Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA), Bureau of Quarantine (BOQ), Department of Information and Communication Technology (DICT), Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), Jose B. Lingad Memorial General Hospital (JBLMGH), and Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG).

In the inauguration rites, BCDA President Vince Dizon said the “We Heal As One Center” will eventually have a 500-bed capacity from the present 371 beds, plus 100 beds that will be available at the hospital, which can take in patients with severe symptoms.

He added that the facility will benefit patients not only from the Subic Bay and Central Luzon areas, but also from Manila where occupancy rate in government hospitals is already breaking limits.

“In fact, I’ve already received calls from a lot of local government units that wanted to know if they can bring patients here,” Dizon revealed.

In the same occasion, SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma pledged another 34 hospital beds to be transferred from the care and isolation facility that the SBMA put up last year at the Subic Gym, which became a DOH-certified community isolation unit for Covdi-19 cases on July 29, 2020.

“This will be SBMA’s contribution to this national effort,” Eisma said.

She added that with the operation of the Covid-19 wellness center at Cubi, the SBMA has been granted its request that a dedicated number of beds will be allotted for Subic Freeport stakeholders, including residents, business locators and SBMA employees.

“Tulong-tulong tayo rito (We will help each other in this project),” Eisma also said.

Prior to this, Eisma has defended the mega isolation facility project after some Subic stakeholders feared that it might lead to more Covid-19 exposure among local residents and workers.

The SBMA chief also assured stakeholders that the remote location of the facility, as well as strict health protocols observed in Subic, would ensure the safety of everyone.

To this, Subic Bay Freeport Chamber of Commerce (SBFCC) president Benjamin Antonio III agreed, saying that the location of the facility “provides a conducive environment for individuals who would need to be isolated because of the COVID-19 virus.”

Antonio said he was “quite confident in the arrangements our government will institute to protect our community, since the complex is well-guarded and fenced, and our healthcare workers are some of the best trained.”

“Moreover, I know that the stakeholders of the Subic Bay Freeport would take this as an opportunity to provide help to our countrymen. We cannot disconnect ourselves from their sufferings. We persistently speak of compassion—now is the chance to display it,” he added. (MPD-SBMA)

PHOTOS:

[1] BCDA President and National Task Force (NTF) against Covid-19 Deputy Chief Implementer Vivencio “Vince” Dizon, assisted by DOH Assistant Secretary Maria Francia Miciano-Laxamana and DOH Undersecretary and Treatment Czar Dr. Leopoldo Vega, cuts the ceremonial ribbon to open the Subic Covid-19 wellness center and temporary treatment and monitoring facility on Wednesday, April 14.

[2] The “We Heal As One Center” will have 500 beds for Covid-19 patients

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SBMA allays stakeholders’ fears on new Subic Covid-19 isolation facility

The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) has allayed fears by stakeholders of this Freeport that the 500-bed mega isolation facility being prepared by the government at the former Cubi Hospital complex here might expose more local residents and workers to the coronavirus disease (Covid-19).

SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma, who visited the facility located in Subic’s Ilanin Forest East on Tuesday, defended the government project and said that the remote location of the facility, as well as strict health protocols observed in Subic, would ensure the safety of everyone.

“The number one assurance we can give them is this location, which is so far away from everybody else,” Eisma said in an interview at the project site. “I would like to emphasize that this hospital is in a fenced and gated compound and that it is virtually a self-contained community.”

“I am sure that the Office of the Civil Defense (OCD) will take all the necessary steps to make sure that everybody who will be working here and will be confined here will be limited to the compound. And if there is a need to go out, they will be properly guarded, properly monitored,” she added.

Eisma also pointed out that Subic has one of the lowest numbers of Covid-19 cases in the country because of strict adherence to protocols despite the presence of a Covid-19 hospital, isolation facilities, and swabbing and testing centers in the Freeport.

She said that this was precisely why Subic has been chosen as an international crew-change hub, as well as a popular destination for events under the “bubble” set-up.

“I’m quite sure, by this time, we already know what to do,” Eisma said. “With what we have learned from the past and what we continue to learn, I can guarantee the community of Subic that we will do everything to make sure that not only is this place contained, but that this place will also service the needs of the community when the need arises,” she added.

“Initially, the plan is that only mild and asymptomatic patients will be brought here until the emergency room and the intensive care unit inside the facility will be up and running,” Eisma said.

The 500-bed mega isolation facility for Covid-19 patients in Subic is expected to be ready in early April, as the government sought to increase the number of quarantine and temporary treatment and monitoring facilities (TTMF) and boost the country’s healthcare system capacity.

Last week, National Task Force (NTF) against Covid-19 Deputy Chief Implementer and testing czar Vivencio “Vince” Dizon said the Subic facility was developed as occupancy rate in government quarantine facilities for Covid-19 patients rose dangerously to 70 percent.

Dizon said the new quarantine and temporary treatment and monitoring facility could accommodate asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic Covid-19 patients and allow hospitals to attend to those with medium to severe symptoms. 

Subic’s Covid-19 isolation facility will use 11 out of some 20 buildings in the former Cubi Hospital complex that also recently housed The Manila Times College Subic (TMTCS) campus. The facilities in the 12-hectare complex include a 100-bed hospital that served as the U.S. Navy’s Pacific regional medical center from 1977 to 1983.

The Department of Health (DOH), along with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), is now renovating the hospital and some adjoining buildings, including those that will serve as quarters for medical personnel and other support staff.

Once the Subic isolation facility is ready for occupancy, the DOH will be running the operations while the OCD will be managing security and logistics, Eisma said. (MPD-SBMA)

PHOTOS:

SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma visits the 500-bed Cubi isolation facility on Tuesday with Subic Bay Freeport Chamber of Commerce (SBFCC) President Benjamin Antonio III (in pink long-sleeved shirt), Manila Times College of Subic Vice President for Operations Ryan Tulio (in blue shirt), and DPWH Zambales 2^nd District Project Engineer Karen Gail C. Miguel.

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Curfew, other restrictions back in Subic Bay Freeport

The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) on Monday reimposed curfew in the Subic Bay Freeport and reverted to previous entry and mobility restrictions to help curb the resurge of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) infections.

SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said the curfew hours in the Subic Freeport will be from 12 midnight to 5:00 in the morning effective March 22 until April 4.

She added that personnel travelling to and from work in the Freeport during curfew hours would be required to show SBMA-issued gate passes and company ID cards to be allowed movement in the zone.

Cargo deliveries, on the other hand, will be unimpeded at all times in Subic, although their crew would be required to strictly observe health safety protocols like wearing of face mask and face shield.

Eisma also said the SBMA has determined that persons from the “NCR Plus bubble” will be allowed into Subic only for business purposes, and should show email confirmation of appointment in the Freeport.

“Those from NCR Plus who would stay in Subic for more than 24 hours will be required to show negative RT-PCR test results with a validity of 24 hours, while persons from MGCQ (modified general community quarantine) areas who would stay here for 4 days and 3 nights or beyond will also be required to undergo RT-PCR test,” Eisma also clarified.

The NCR Plus bubble includes the National Capital Region and the five neighboring provinces of Bulacan, Rizal, Laguna, and Cavite.

The SBMA chief likewise said they would strictly enforce restrictions set by the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) under Resolution No. 96 that those below 15 years and over 65 years of age, as well as those pregnant or with comorbidities, will not be allowed outside of their residences except for food, work, or exercise.

The SBMA also barred children below 3 years old from Subic beaches, prohibited consumption of alcoholic drinks in public areas, and temporarily banned picnicking at public spaces like the Waterfront, Boardwalk Park, Malawaan Park, and the San Bernardino Road.

In an announcement last Sunday, Eisma also reminded Subic stakeholders to stay home and suspend non-essential travel in view of the “alarming resurgence of the COVID-19 virus and the growing number of new positive cases in the country.”

The SBMA had recorded since last year 50 confirmed Covid-19 cases among Freeport residents, 32 among guests and transient workers, and 30 among SBMA employees, with just six active cases in the three groups as the moment.

“While the Subic Bay Freeport Zones remains to be one of the urban communities in the country with the least number of cases, we have to take more pro-active measures to protect our ourselves, our family, our livelihood, and the bigger community we live in. We cannot afford another lockdown, so we must do all we can to prevent it,” Eisma pointed out.

She said that to help minimize risks among SBMA employees while continuing to provide services to the public, the SBMA also reverted to alternating teams among its personnel who would man the offices during the two-week period.

“Prudence is always the better part of valor. And with prudence, we ensure our own protection and those of our loved ones and the Subic community. Just as important, we also guarantee that economic activities in Subic continue for all our sake,” Eisma also said. (MPD-SBMA)

PHOTOS:

[1] SBMA law enforcers checking for ID cards and permits among motorists (file photo)

[2] A security guard enforces social distancing among mall-goers in the Subic Bay Freeport (file photo)

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Covid-19 saliva test now available at Subic Freeport

The saliva test, a more comfortable and affordable alternative to the nasal swabbing method for Covid-19 testing, is now available at the Subic Bay Freeport under a joint project of the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) and the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA).

SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said the PRC on Monday (Feb. 8) opened a saliva collection facility at the PRC-SBMA Covid-19 Testing Center near the Subic Bay Freeport main gate for its Saliva-Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (Saliva RT-PCR) testing program.

The Red Cross rolled out the saliva testing program in Manila late last month following approval by the Department of Health (DOH) of the use of saliva as an alternative specimen for RT-PCR testing.

“It’s just like the nasopharyngeal swabbing procedure in terms of efficacy because it uses the same system, which is the RT-PCR,” Eisma explained during the project launch.

“But while others find the nasopharyngeal swabbing somewhat painful, this one is not because it’s non-invasive. To top it all, it’s way cheaper than the swab test,” she added.

The saliva test, which is touted to be a quick and safe alternative for diagnosing Covid-19 infections, requires patients to spit through a tube into a small specimen collection container. About 1-2 mL of saliva is needed for testing.

The procedure is also said to be safer because there is less risk of exposure between the patients and the health care workers collecting the samples.

Moreover, processing of the sample in the testing machine takes less time, thus allowing for the release of test results in about 6 to 12 hours, the PRC said.

The PRC also noted that the saliva test costs from P1,500 to P2,000 and has an accuracy rate of 98.23%, while the nasal swab test, which is 99% accurate, costs from P3,800 to P5,000.

To date, only the Red Cross saliva RT-PCR test to date has been approved by the DOH as a saliva-based testing method to detect Covid-19 infections, the PRC added.

SBMA Deputy Administrator for Health and Safety Ronnie Yambao said there are now two booths dedicated for saliva testing at PRC-SBMA Covid-19 Testing Center, although the testing facility would continue to accommodate those who would prefer the nasopharyngeal swabbing procedure.

Those who want to take the saliva test here should deposit a P2,000 payment to the Philippine Red Cross account number 0132062464009 at Security Bank in Mandaluyong EDSA, and then email proof of payment and details of the person who will get tested to saliva.olongapo@redcross.org.ph.

In response, the Red Cross will email an online registration link for the customer to get the Retrieval Code, which must be presented to at the PRC-SBMA Covid-19 Testing Center in order to proceed with the collection of saliva specimen. (MPD-SBMA)

PHOTO:

Emergency Medical Services staff Marcelo Macariola demonstrates the collection of saliva specimen for testing during the launch of the saliva testing facility in Subic on Monday. Also in photo are SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma, PRC-Olongapo Administrator Vilma T. Feji, and SBMA Deputy Administrator for Health and Safety Ronnie Yambao.

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Covid-19 surge in Subic firm traced to parties

While social interaction remains important even during the Covid-19 pandemic, it’s still no time to party especially when minimum health requirements like wearing face mask and keeping physical distancing cannot be observed.

This was the lesson some employees of a business process outsourcing (BPO) company here recently learned the hard way after attending parties that might have served as super-spreading events, said Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma.

“As of latest count, 25 employees have tested positive for Covid-19 infection out of 65 workers who had to be placed on quarantine,” Eisma announced on Wednesday.

“Our health experts here have determined that were it not for parties that workers attended, all these hassles of quarantine and work stoppage would not have happened,” she added.

Dr. Solomon Jacalne, who heads the SBMA Public Health & Safety Department, said the surge in Covid-19 cases at the company was traced to two parties that employees attended last Nov. 14, a Saturday. The first was a beach party at Baloy, a popular beach area in Olongapo City, and the second was a pool party held in San Marcelino, Zambales.

Jacalne said contact tracing indicated that the employees who tested positive of Covid-19 either attended the parties or were exposed to co-workers who went to the said social gatherings.

But the doctor added that it was the unsafe behavior of employees that allowed further spread of the virus. “Some were not honest with their health declaration,” he noted. “They didn’t say they were sick and they reported for work just the same because of the company’s no-work-no-pay policy.”

Jacalne said the first case was recorded on Nov. 6, but the patient’s two identified close contacts had tested negative.  The next two positive cases were known on Nov. 17—a couple who declared as close contacts only those with whom they shared the shuttle bus.

“Then there came to be a sudden spike in the following days, from Nov. 19 to 25. And this was the only time when the employees admitted about the beach and pool parties—when there were already 16 positive cases,” Jacalne said.

After the parties were revealed, further investigation by tracers widened the circle of close contacts to a total of 65—all employees of the BPO firm. Out of these, 25 so far have tested positive of the virus.

Jacalne added that no other positive case was recorded at the firm in the last seven days and that all the suspect cases are now under quarantine in their respective areas in Zambales, Olongapo City and Bataan and awaiting schedule for RT-PCR test.

Following this development, Chairman Eisma ordered further investigation to determine additional safety measures to be imposed at the workplace.

Company officials said they have already installed barriers between work stations as early as August and have now positioned their call agents one workstation apart.

It was also learned that with 500 call center agents in its employ, the company intends to expand into a bigger area to comply with Joint Memorandum Circular No. 20-04-A, which provided for supplemental guidelines from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) on workplace prevention and control of Covid-19.

Eisma said the SBMA will look into the possibility of leasing out a portion of a nearby building for the expansion area needed by the firm.

Eisma also urged companies in the Subic Freeport to forego the traditional company Christmas party this year to avoid the risk of virus transmission. "Let us stay safe. We can make Christmas more meaningful, more special and more rewarding by celebrating it with our family and household members this year," Eisma added. (MPD/SBMA)

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Subic services 37 ships under crew-change program

Two months after joining the government’s crew-change program, the Port of Subic has serviced a total of 37 ships and enabled more than 500 mostly Filipino seafarers to either take badly-needed rest or renew work aboard commercial vessels.

SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said the crew-change program is a direct response to President Duterte's call that no one should be left behind in government efforts to ensure the safety of all Filipinos and provide assistance to vulnerable groups in face of the Covid-19 pandemic.

"We understand that crew change is necessary for the health and safety of seafarers,” Eisma said. “And considering that around 80,000 Filipino seafarers with lapsed contracts are stranded aboard their ships, there is a lot to be done to ensure movement among seafarers, especially Filipinos, during this humanitarian and economic crisis.”

Subic started operations as a crew-change hub on September 10 with the arrival here of five Filipino seafarers who were stranded for about three months aboard MV Dapeng Star, a liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker based in Hong Kong.

Since then, One Stop Shop (OSS) Subic, the inter-agency task force which manages the Subic crew-change operations, has recorded a total of 260 “off-signers”, or inbound ship crew, and 255 “on-signers”, or outbound seafarers, as of Monday, November 9.

Of the total 515 seafarers who either arrived or departed in Subic under the program, only 24—or 12 on-signers and 12 off-signers—were foreigners.

Ships of all shapes and sizes have arrived here for crew-change. These included MV RTM Cook, a bulk carrier based in Singapore, with seven Filipino on-signers and 11 off-signers; LNG Dapeng Moon, a tanker based in Hong Kong, with five Filipino on-signers; MV Mindoro, a Panama-flagged vehicles carrier with three on-signers and two off-signers, all Filipino; MT Jason, a chemical tanker from Marshall Islands with 12 Filipino on-signers, and one Croatian and 13 Filipino off-signers; MT Euro Integrity, a Liberian-flagged crude oil tanker with 15 on-signers and 16 off-signers, all Filipino; and MV Nine Eagle, a Panama-flagged livestock carrier with five on-signers and five off-signers, all Filipino.

SBMA Seaport Department manager Jerome Martinez, meanwhile, stressed that OSS Subic has laid out strict health and safety protocols for the program, with all outbound and inbound seafarers undergoing RTC-PCR testing prior to departure from Subic or upon arrival at the Subic Bay International Airport.

“In case an on-signer tests positive, he is brought back point-to-point to Manila where he was swab-tested. Meanwhile, upon disembarking, off-signers are brought directly to the Subic-OSS for swab testing, after which they are transported to an isolation facility in Manila,” Martinez explained.

He added that in the two months period that crew-change has been undertaken in Subic, only one positive case among seafarers has been recorded.

Seafarers have been designated “key workers” by many countries, including the Philippines, which belong to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to enable them to travel to and from ships and ensure the operation of commercial vessels.

The IMO said that commercial ships now transport more than 80% of global trade by volume, including vital food and medicine, energy and raw materials, as well as manufactured goods. (MPD-SBMA)

PHOTOS:

[1] Inbound seafarers from MV Devon Bay, all clad in personal protective equipment, await transportation upon arrival at the Subic Bay Freeport on November 6.

[2] A sanitation worker disinfects baggage, as inbound seafarers from MV Devon Bay await transportation upon arrival at the Subic Bay Freeport on November 6.

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Taiwanese firm to manufacture face mask, PPEs in Subic

A newly-formed Taiwanese company in the Subic Bay Freeport will be manufacturing face masks and other personal protection equipment (PPEs) to help address a continuing demand for health safety gears, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said the SBMA management has recently green-lighted the operation of Mask Secure King Inc. (MSK) to help increase the country’s production capacity for PPEs and other medical consumables.

Mask Secure King Inc., which is under the umbrella of Taiwanese construction and engineering giant MSK Group Work Inc., will set up a manufacturing facility here at the Subic Bay Gateway Park II where it has leased a 1,860-square meter building space from the Taiwanese real estate developer Xantheng Subic International Corp.

Eisma said the MSK has committed US$500,000 for the manufacturing project and will employ 35 workers during its first year of operation.

The firm will do business under the trade name “Secure Masks and Protective Gears.”

According to the SBMA Business and Investment Department for Manufacturing and Maritime (BID-MM), the Subic agency approved MSK’s proposal early this month after it filed for a Certificate of Registration and Tax Exemption (CRTE).

The firm’s registered business activity focused on the manufacture of medical devices, medical tools and equipment, medical consumable products, and personal protective gears and equipment.

Among the PPEs MSK will produce are medical disposable masks, gloves, foot and eye protection devices, protective hearing devices like earplugs and muffs, hard hats, respirators, and full body suits.

BID-MM manager Karen Magno said the SBMA has already endorsed to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) the purchase by MSK of mask machines from Taiwan, as well as the importation of non-woven mask materials for its Subic manufacturing operations.

MSK will be the first Subic-registered company to engage in the manufacture of health and safety products and personal protective gears, Magno said.

Another firm, which had since relocated to Bataan, previously produced in Subic only hospital textiles and garments.

Eisma said the operation of MSK will boost local production of N95 medical masks, PPE coveralls, as well as ventilators which had no known local producer prior to the Covid-19 pandemic.

At the same time, she said it will bolster the growing confidence of Taiwanese manufacturers in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone and further enlarge MSK’s development footprint here. 

The SBMA chief noted that the MSK Group had begun a P2-billion luxury residential project here in 2017 while Xantheng followed it up with a P15-billion green industrial park development project last year.

“Taiwanese investors, particularly the MSK Group, have been thriving here and continuously supporting and contributing to the development of the Subic Bay Freeport Zone. This manufacturing project by MSK will be another welcome addition to our list of timely business projects here in Subic,” Eisma added. (MPD-SBMA)

PHOTO:

Mask Secure King Inc., which will manufacture face masks and PPEs will be located at Phase 2 of the Subic Bay Gateway Park

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SBMA: ‘Let’s make fight vs Covid-19 personal’

The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) has called on workers in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone to take a personal stand against Covid-19 in order to develop a culture of safety and thus enable the revival of the local economy.

SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma issued this appeal on Wednesday, as the Subic agency promoted the “Subic Bay Freeport Health and Safety Pledge and Promise to Humanity”, which seeks to inspire personal commitment among workers to imbibe and practice health and safety protocols both at home and in the workplace.

“So much is at stake in this fight against Covid-19—our personal safety, our livelihood, our family’s welfare, and the growth of the economy. So, we really need to take this fight to a personal level,” Eisma pointed out.

“We need healthy people to build a healthy economy, and it takes a personal commitment to safety in order to remain healthy in these very challenging times,” she added.

The safety pledge has been approved last month by the SBMA Board of Directors for implementation on a voluntary basis among SBMA employees and other Subic stakeholders.

SBMA Deputy Administrator for Health and Safety Ronnie Yambao said that more than instilling awareness of individual and collective roles in the fight against Covid-19, the pledge recognizes the severity of the health crisis and the need for individual commitments to slow down the spread of the virus around the world.

The pledge extracts a commitment to follow all health and safety protocols and maintain safety in workplaces at all times; to encourage other people to follow safety measures in order to save lives; and to be a good role model for co-workers, friends, and family on and off the job. 

Yambao added that the pledge “makes following protocols meaningful, rather than mechanical.”

He said the SBMA had since circulated the pledge among SBMA employees, asked celebrities to endorse and popularize the project, and encouraged business locators and their employees to do the same.

Eisma said that to further strengthen workplace response to Covid-19, the SBMA recently rolled out a series of web seminars to guide Subic Freeport companies in re-tooling and boosting their capacity to respond to challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

In one instance, the SBMA Business Group gathered more than 250 company officials and employees for a discussion on the “Operational Framework of COVID-19 Response in Workplace,” which originated from the Department of Health (DOH).

During the webinar, which ran for a little over an hour, SBMA fire chief Ranny Magno also oriented the participants on techniques in workplace and public transport cleaning and disinfection.

SBMA Deputy Administrator for Business Renato Lee said this particular orientation was important, as business locators here sought best practices to adopt in order to keep the Covid-19 virus at bay.

More firms had requested for similar capacity-building seminars to help them become self-reliant in their Covid-19 response, Lee added.

“Subic stakeholders should realize what’s at stake,” Eisma noted. “The fact is that under the new normal, everything should be safe in order to be sustainable. This applies to corporate and even personal businesses.” (MPD-SBMA)

PHOTOS:

[1] Celebrity endorsers of the Safety Pledge and Promise to Humanity include movie stars Tonton Gutierrez, Cherry Pie Picache, and Ronnie Lazaro, and Subic Customs Collector Marites Martin

[2] Safety Culture: Employees of Subic business locators undergo temperature scanning and listing before boarding a bus that would take them to work

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Subic crew-change hub begins operations

Subic started operations as a crew-change hub on Thursday, September 10, with the arrival here of five Filipino seafarers who finally disembarked after being stranded aboard their ship for several months due to port restrictions during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said this was the first batch of crewmen to arrive here after Subic was designated by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) as a hub for international crew change.

The five Filipinos disembarked from MV Dapeng Star, a liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker based in Hong Kong.

“The operation went without a hitch and was over in just a matter of three hours,” Eisma said. She recounted that at 7:40 a.m., a tugboat left the San Bernardino jetty here to meet up with Dapeng Star, which had anchored near Grande Island at the mouth of Subic Bay.

The tugboat carried personnel from the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) and the Coast Guard, who conducted the initial health check-up of the inbound seafarers and had them suited up in personal protective equipment (PPE) prior to disembarkation.

“At 10 a.m. the tugboat was back at the jetty, the five seafarers in blue PPEs got off, had their baggage checked by K-9, boarded a van to the One-Stop-Shop (OSS) at the Subic airport where they got swabbed for RT-PCR test and had their documents processed by the Bureau of Quarantine and Bureau of Immigration,” Eisma noted.

“At exactly 11:14 a.m., or just over three hours, the seafarers were already departing for the Manila Grand Opera Hotel, which shall serve as their quarantine facility for 14 days,” she added.

The opening of the Subic crew-change hub is expected to ease the current congestion in Manila Bay where merchant ships with Filipino crewmen await their turn to disembark their crew and take in fresh personnel. The Philippines is among the biggest suppliers of manpower in the shipping industry today.

Eisma pointed out that the problem on crew-change does not only concern crewmen longing to go home to their families, or the congested ports where ships await their turn to disembark their crew.

“It is, in fact, a problem of huge proportion because it affects the global supply chain,” she said. “With the start of crew-change operations here, Subic becomes a part of the solution to this global problem,” she added.

The Department of Transportation (DOTr), which spearheads the inter-agency project, said the Subic operation is part of the “Philippine Green Lane” put up for the speedy and safe travel of seafarers and swift crew change during the Covid-19 pandemic. The other crew-change hubs are the Port of Manila and Port Capinpin in Bataan.

Subic was designated as a crew change hub in July, and was formally opened on August 22. However, operations here only involve point-to-point embarkation and disembarkation pending approval of the second phase where inbound seafarers could quarantine in local hotels after their RT-PCR test.

DOTr Assistant Secretary Narciso Vingson, who supervised the maiden crew-change operation in Subic, stressed that crew-change protocols were strictly observed and that a “no-contact” policy was put in place to ensure the safety of the seafarers and the attending personnel.

Vingson said that prior to debarkation, the seafarers were made to undergo customs, immigration and quarantine (CIQ) procedures on board the ship. Thereafter, they were debriefed, RT-PCR tested and processed at the Subic OSS, before transported to a mandatory quarantine facility in Manila.  (MPD-SBMA)

PHOTOS:

[1] Filipino crewmen disembark from the LNG tanker Dapeng Star anchored on Subic Bay during the first crew-change operation in the Subic Bay Freeport on Thursday, Sept. 10

[2] Disembarked Filipino seafarers arrive at the San Bernardino jetty during the first crew-change operation in the Subic Bay Freeport on Thursday, Sept. 10

[3] A newly-disembarked Filipino seafarer gives the thumbs up during the first crew-change operation in the Subic Bay Freeport on Thursday, Sept. 10

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SBMA firemen take risks in fight vs. Covid-19

From putting out blazes, catching snakes and stray animals, and responding to disasters, the SBMA Fire Department has now switched mostly to fighting an unusual enemy that could not be seen: Covid-19.

While fighting with sprayers carried on backpacks to disinfect facilities had not diminished the team’s fire suppression capacity, it too had not reduced the dangers these frontline workers face every day on the job.

The new mission is all part of a contingency plan that was hatched when the cruise ship World Dream with close to 800 tourists from China was stopped from docking in Subic last January when the new coronavirus began spreading worldwide, said SBMA fire chief Ranny Magno.

“We needed to be proactive; it’s the way risk managers should think, and that is embedded in the SBMA culture,” Magno said. “So we started preparation and planning.”

The preparation involved training on disinfection and decontamination procedures, orientation on the new coronavirus, and the actual purchase of hazardous materials (HAZMAT) suits, personal protective equipment (PPEs), and three backpack sprayers.

For disinfectant and decontaminant solutions, Magno said the Subic firefighters used chlorine granules (calcium hypochlorite) mixed with clean water, an ingenuity they practiced here months before the Department of Health (DOH) officially endorsed chlorine solution as effective against Covid-19.

These came in handy when SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma ordered the disinfection of all SBMA offices, especially those frequented by clients, in order to ensure health and safety in the Freeport while keeping the local economy running.

SBMA’s disinfection program began on March 14, two days before the declaration of the Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), and the first to be sanitized was the Pass and ID office where there were always some queues for customers.

Soon, some stakeholders got involved and chipped in: two hotels with huge swimming pools donated chlorine granules from their stocks. A Filipino who retired from the US Marine gave two units of backpack sprayers.

Since then and until June 30, the SBMA Fire Department had decontaminated a total of 110 buildings and offices, including 34 SBMA facilities.

At the same time, the Fire Prevention Division of the SBMA Fire Department switched from its usual lecture on fire control and instead performed orientation and inspection of Covid-19 health protocols in in locator companies that were allowed to operate during the quarantine.

Under this task, the fire team managed to inspect the implementation of safety protocols, including measures for social distancing, in a total of 936 companies from May to August.

“One thing we learned during this pandemic was that every step must be precise; there’s no margin for error because lives are at stake here,” Magno said. “It is a hard task for us because we are all exposed to the virus.”

Magno noted that one SBMA fireman had recently been infected after decontamination of the Subic container terminal where 45 workers had tested positive of Covid-19.  He said the firefighter, who remains asymptomatic, has been quarantined at an SBMA isolation facility and is doing well.

“We know the risks of our job. We understand that we could be infected anytime. But we have to do our job to protect our locators and stakeholders,” Magno said.

Right now, as the SBMA management considers giving the disinfection job to its maintenance unit, the tactical objective of the Fire Department would be to train locator-companies on the proper procedures for disinfection. 

“To be safe, we have to be resilient by seeing to it that our area is free from virus. But each and every one of us—the stakeholders— should be resilient so that the whole community could be resilient,” Magno added. (MPD-SBMA)

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Using sprayers and fire nozzles, SBMA firemen disinfect facilities in the Subic Bay Freeport to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 virus

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SBMA offers Subic gym for isolation of SBITC workers

The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) has offered its community isolation facility at the Subic gymnasium for the care and isolation of workers at the Subic container terminal who had tested positive of the new coronavirus disease (Covid-19).

SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said she sounded this off in a meeting on Wednesday with officials of the Department of Health (DOH), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the Subic Bay International Terminal Corporation (SBITC) to defuse the health crisis at the Subic container port where the latest tally placed 29 workers having tested positive.

Eisma said the major concerns raised in the meeting included the home quarantine of Covid-positive workers who are either asymptomatic or have only mild symptoms, and the tracing of contacts in the community where workers live.

“In this situation where we have a rising number of Covid-19 cases among workers in one area at the Freeport, it would be best to quarantine the infected workers in a proper isolation facility, rather than send them home to self-quarantine,” Eisma pointed out.

“This is a situation that could blow bigger, but by isolating those who tested positive, we can help arrest local transmission. Otherwise, the contagion would spread and may get out of hand. We don’t want that to happen,” she added.

The Covid-19 outbreak at the SBITC container terminal was detected last week when a total of 15 cases were initially recorded after a worker from Olongapo City, who had no history of travel to any high-risk area, first manifested symptoms of the disease on July 30.

Over the weekend, the SBMA ordered SBITC to have all its employees tested through reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in order to prevent a total shutdown of operations.

SBITC president Roberto Locsin agreed and gave his assurance that all other personnel in the terminal will undergo RT-PCR test. These included a total of 238 shift workers, port users, security personnel, canteen staff, and even SBMA checkers.

However, as results of the mass testing on Monday began coming in, 14 new cases were confirmed as of Wednesday from about 80 percent of the total number of tests taken, resulting to a running count of 29.

“If more Covid-19 cases are discovered among SBITC workers, and if local medical facilities can no longer accommodate them, then we offer the Subic gym community isolation facility,” Eisma said.

“We have started preparing the Subic gym as early as April for just this kind of scenario—but always with the prayer that it won’t come to this, and here we are now. It’s sad, but at least there’s a place where the afflicted can go and get medical care without posing risk to their families,” she added.

The Subic gym, which has just been refurbished last year as venue for the Southeast Asian Games, has been converted by the SBMA into a 32-bed care and isolation facility complete with work and rest quarters for medical care personnel.

The facility became a DOH-certified community isolation unit for Covdi-19 cases effective July 29, 2020, under a certificate signed by Dr. Cesar Cassion, director of the DOH Central Luzon Center for Health Development.

Eisma said the SBITC may use the facility at its own expense, as the DOH has not yet designated any level-2 hospital in the community to manage it as a Covid-19 facility.

Aside from the Subic gym, the SBMA also transformed the six-storey Leciel Hotel building into an additional care and isolation facility with 81 rooms. This, however, is still awaiting DOH accreditation. (MPD-SBMA)

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DOH personnel, local health care professionals and SBMA managers inspect the Subic gym community isolation facility after its completion in April.

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SBMA orders mass testing of Subic container terminal workers

The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) has ordered the Subic Bay International Terminal Corp. (SBITC), operator of the new container terminal here, to have all their employees tested for new coronavirus disease (Covid-19) after an outbreak of cases there last week.

SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said a total of 14 positive cases have been recorded among SBITC workers since July 30 when a worker from Olongapo City, who had no history of travel to any high-risk area, first manifested symptoms of the disease.

“It was either mass testing by RT-PCR (reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction) or shutdown of terminal operations—that’s the only choice left if we wanted to contain the outbreak,” Eisma said.

She said the SBMA also required disinfection of the whole terminal complex, closure of engineering and maintenance areas subject to focused disinfection, and daily in-house disinfection.

“Thankfully, the SBITC management was very cooperative in our strategy to contain the spread, as we knew that closure is a last resort because testing is the key to preventing the spread and that the Red Cross lab at our doorstep makes for fast turnaround for results,”  she added.

She said that SBITC president Roberto Locsin has given the assurance that aside from those already traced and tested after some workers turned out positive, all other personnel working in the container terminal will undergo RT-PCR test.

These include a total of 238 shift workers, port users, security personnel, canteen staff, and even SBMA checkers.

According to contact tracing records received by the SBMA Public Health and Safety Department, at least 50 employees have been identified as close contacts after the first Covid-19 infection at SBITC.

The PHSD said that after the first worker tested positive on Aug. 4, tracing identified 15 contacts in the workforce. When three of the 15 contacts tested positive on Aug. 7, 25 close contacts were identified in turn and of these, seven came out positive. Since then, three other positive cases were recorded.

Of the 14 infected workers, nine are from Olongapo City, four from Zambales, and one from Aurora.

Only two of the confirmed cases have been admitted to a hospital, as the rest, who are mostly asymptomatic, were placed on home quarantine.

In messages to Chairman Eisma, Locsin said that they have also initiated other measures to arrest the infection in the workplace.

Aside from contact tracing and immediate quarantining of close contacts, the firm had since closed the administration building to visitors, started issuing gate passes online, encouraged online payments, closed the operations barracks, ordered the mandatory wearing of face mask and face shield, and prohibited dine-in at the company canteen.

Locsin also said terminal facilities have been disinfected first by the SBMA Fire Department on Aug. 8 to 10, and the next by a third party contractor on Aug. 11. More disinfection was made on Aug. 15 and 16.

For the mass testing scheduled today, Aug. 17, Eisma said that swabbing booths have been set up by SBITC at the terminal, with two mobile swab booths loaned by the SBMA for contingency.

Two medical technologists will be assigned at the container terminal to take swab samples starting at 9 a.m. from 80 SBITC staff already stationed at the terminal, while three others will be at the SBMA swabbing center near the Subic main gate for samples from the other 158 SBITC workers who would be coming mostly from Olongapo City.

Eisma said that test results can be generated within 24 to 48 hours, depending on the volume of samples tested at the Red Cross molecular laboratory here in the Freeport. (MPD-SBMA)

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The new container terminal operated by SBITC in the Subic Bay Freeport

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