TACLOBAN CITY – The city government of Maasin in Southern Leyte will consider home isolation for returning residents and overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) due to the limited capacity of its designated quarantine facilities.
Following the protocols, all returning residents in the city are subjected to rapid antibody test and those with reactive results will be confined in the city’s isolation area for further testing and monitoring. Those with non-reactive results are sent to designated quarantine facilities for the mandatory 14-day isolation.
In a statement on Friday, Mayor Nacional Mercado said their existing facilities would not be enough to accommodate the influx of locally stranded individuals (LSI) and OFWs, thus the city health office recommends home isolation for returnees.
He said those interested to opt for home isolation must write a request to the city inter-agency task force for Emerging Infectious Disease stating their home address and the reason/s for such preference.
Upon approval of the task force, local health personnel will visit their respective residences to assess and evaluate if they meet the requirements for home isolation or quarantine.
“The LSI or OFW shall be alone in the house, with its own toilet and bath, and available running water in the area. If the house meets the requirements, the Barangay (village) Health Emergency Response Team (BHERT) will now be informed of the returnee’s intention to be put in home isolation for 14-days and the BHERT shall approve the same,” Mercado said.
A village watchman will be assigned in the area to ensure that the returning resident will not go out and no visitor allowed during the 14-day quarantine period.
The local government will also assign a nurse and midwife to daily monitor the returnee’s health condition either personally or via phone.
“The returnee must fill out the monitoring sheet for temperature twice a week and report immediately to the assigned health personnel once he or she developed flu-like symptoms like fever, cough, and sore throat,” Mercado said.
After the LSI or OFW complete the home isolation without any symptoms, a Certificate of Quarantine Completion will be issued by the city health office.
Maasin City, the capital of Southern Leyte, remains free of the coronavirus disease 2019, according to the Department of Health.
Meanwhile, Eastern Visayas has confirmed a total of 90 coronavirus cases, including 34 recoveries and zero death.
(GERICO SABALZA/PNA)
