The Archdiocese of Cebu, Philipines has opened its International Eucharistic Congress (IEC) center, a facility with a floor area of about 25, 754 square meters, for people showing symptoms of coronavirus, according to CBCP News.
The IEC Convention Center Cebu (IC3), formerly known as the IEC Pavillon, will be among the two “first response areas” set up to serve as Covid-19 care and quarantine facilities.
The other FRA is the Sacred Heart School — Ateneo de Cebu, formerly known as SHS School for Boys.
The initiative was part of a concerted effort called “Bayanihan Cebu Center” (BCC) to serve mildly to moderately symptomatic patients.
The IC3 was the venue of the 51st IEC that brought in over 10,000 participants from all over the world in 2016.
“Now, its doors are to be opened in collaboration with the kindness and generosity of some people in Cebu, to become a haven of hope and healing,” Caritas Cebu said.
“The venue that used to hold the teachings on the Eucharist will now become a place of concretizing that bread being broken and shared to those in need in time of this Covid-19 pandemic,” it added.
The San Carlos Seminary will also serve as BCC’s “drop-off area” for medical supplies and equipment which will be needed by the two centers.
The archdiocese has earlier launched an initiative aimed at providing assistance to frontline workers and relief for the poor communities.
Through its “Archbishop Teofilo Camomot Buhat sa Kalu-oy Program”, the archdiocese aims to provide the basic needs to poor families who are at a disadvantage due to the pandemic.
