DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 24 March) – More accommodation facilities in Davao City have offered to accommodate for free the nurses of the Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC) and workers of the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) here after many of them were evicted from their dormitories amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) threat, Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc. (DCCCII) president John Carlo Tria said on Tuesday.
Photo courtesy of Google.
Tria said several hotels and inns heeded the call to take in the frontliners and BPO workers, who have been discriminated by owners of dormitories, for fear that they might be exposed to the COVID-19 infection.
“This will allow them safer and easier access to their workplaces while complying with government requirements,” he said.
The accommodation facilities that opened their doors to nurses and BPO workers are Davao Airport View, Circle-B Suites, Chateau Cinco Dormitel, D’Airbus Inn, Yellow Pad, Sharana Pensionne, Capital O World Palace, Blue Lotus Hotel, and Oh George.
Dr. Roy Ferrer, Assistant Secretary for Health Field Implementation and Coordination Team for Visayas and Mindanao, told dormitory owners to show compassion for the health professional who are already exhausted from tending to persons under investigation and COVID-19 patients.
“They are well trained in terms of hygiene. You thought they are bringing germs to your boarding house, but these people are professionals. There is nothing to worry about in accommodating our nurses and doctors,” he said.
Meanwhile, Tria added that arrangements with “logistics companies and airlines are being pursued to encourage local businesses to continue while complying with government requirements.”
Tria added DCCCII earlier advised businesses to “build online operations and patronize delivery services,” and asked banks to “defer loan payments and eventually restructure loans.”
“We are also happy that banks now offer deferred payments on loans, and that many businesses like restaurants have launched their delivery service through popular online applications,” he explained.
He said the private sector had already presented its economic plan to the city government. (Antonio L. Colina IV / MindaNews)
