Coral Bay Nickel Corporation (CBNC) recently turned over handwashing facilities to the
quarantine units of Bataraza in its aim to help contain the spread of coronavirus disease 2019
(COVID-19) in the town.
Six handwashing facilities with capacity of 1,000 liters each will be stationed in three quarantine
units in Bataraza which at one time has accommodated more than 100 locally stranded
individuals (LSIs) when the province started accepting LSIs in the past months.
Just last month, Bataraza recorded eight COVID-19 positive cases and fully recovered after their
14 days of isolation. To this date, Bataraza is again COVID-free.
“At present, Bataraza has 3 quarantine facilities. Converting these structures into comfortable,
health-promotive temporary homes to returning stranded individuals with continuous safe water
supply, with beds and beddings and other necessities is quite challenging,” said Municipal
Health Officer Rebethea Acala.
CBNC heeded this request of the MHO and provided mattresses, beddings, pillows along with
the six handwashing tanks. The company also provided one unit of laptop and printer to the
office of MHO to help in the contract tracing and aid in the speedy processing of important
documents of the MHO.
“Our frontliners are everyday facing this battle to fight COVID. By providing some of their
needs and equipping our quarantine facilities is one way that the Company can help lightening
their jobs and preventing this disease from spreading in Bataraza,” said Ernesto Llacuna,
Community Relations Manager of CBNC.
CBNC has been providing relief efforts to ease the effect of pandemic to residents and
frontliners. To date, CBNC has spent P 38 million which majority of those were spent for
purchasing rice and other food items and benefitted more than 80,000 families.