ON February 26, Filipino citizens from the cruise ship M/V Diamond Princess arrived in New Clark City, which has been designated as a quarantine site for Filipino repatriates from countries hit by COVID-19.
Fourteen days later, on March 11, these repatriates were released. Today, the Bases Conversion and Development Authority released footage of Department of Health (DOH) personnel disinfecting the rooms inside the Athletes' Village.
“We would like to assure everyone, especially those residing in the adjacent communities of New Clark City, that the Athletes’ Village has been thoroughly sanitized by the DOH,” said Vince Dizon, president and CEO of the agency, in a statement.
Built as the residence of athletes for the Southeast Asian Games, the Athletes' Village became, for the past two weeks, the temporary address for 445 Filipino repatriates from the cruise ship, which was in Yokohama as Japanese authorities scrambled to contain the outbreak inside the ship.
On March 11, two persons quarantined inside the Athletes' Village were tested positive for COVID-19.
"New Clark City will remain on lockdown in accordance with the government’s directive to the public to refrain from visiting public places,” continued Dizon.
During the Southeast Asian Games, athletes could live three to a room in a two-building complex that had a total capacity of 1,500. During the first batch of quarantined repatriates (30 Filipinos from Hubei province in China), reports said they were well-treated, with each person given their own air-conditioned and WiFi-equipped room.
"The rooms were big enough for three people," said Elmer Collong, one of the DOH's "Brave 5" who went into quarantine after picking up Filipino citizens from China.
In a narrative published in Spot.ph, he continued: "There were two beds, one with another pull-out mattress under it. Bathroom and fixtures were nice and user-friendly to the physically challenged. There was a refrigerator and air-conditioning unit in each room as well as a smart TV. Pretty roomy for an individual or a couple and still cozy for a family of four."
When the first global news of coronavirus cases began to appear on early February, the BCDA offered the athletic complex as a centralized zone for quarantined repatriates. Once projected to be a new hub for national and international sports (including the ASEAN Para Games, originally scheduled to begin late March), the COVID-19 crisis has — for the time being — transformed the world-class athletics facilities to address a growing public health crisis.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph