QUARANTINE TEAM. Photo shows the repatriated overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who arrived in Iloilo City last May 25, 2020. Iloilo Governor Arthur Defensor, Jr. has formed a provincial quarantine team to handle the returning OFWs and locally stranded individuals (LSIs) on June 5, 2020. (File photo courtesy of Jhed Christian Amoso)
ILOILO CITY – To further shield the province against the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), Iloilo Governor Arthur Defensor Jr. has passed an executive order establishing the provincial quarantine team.
In an interview on Tuesday, Lawyer Suzzete Mamon, provincial administrator, and quarantine team chairperson said that the team was formed to handle the return of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) and locally stranded individuals (LSIs).
“The very reason (of the creation of the quarantine team) is that we have locally stranded individuals, except OFWs, who returned home, they have to be attended to, to prevent the transmission of Covid-19,” she said.
She noted there were returning Ilonggos who arrived in the province and were tested positive for the disease.
As of Tuesday's data of the Department of Health-Center for Health Development (DOH-CHD) in Region 6 (Western Visayas), 13 repatriated OFWs from Iloilo province were tested positive for Covid-19.
The executive order 134 of the governor tasked the provincial quarantine team to receive incoming OFWs, LSIs, and other passengers.
They will be responsible to “monitor the health of incoming passengers with thermal scanners and other similar devices, as well as, ensure the performance of personal hygiene procedures, like hand washing and/or application of disinfectants, upon entry to the province”.
The team will also “perform quarantine procedure to any Persons under Monitoring (PUM), Persons Under Investigation (PUI)” under the decision tool of the Department of Health.
They are also tasked to register passengers with all the relevant information and transmit the same to the respective city or municipalities for monitoring and execution of quarantine procedures.
“This is to make their arrival organized and systematic. We will establish a contact tracing procedure or protocol to prevent the community spread of Covid-19,” Mamon said.
Other members of the team include Iloilo Provincial Health Office (PHO) head Dr. Patrcia Grace Trabado, Provincial Health Officer 1 Dr. Ma. Socorro Quiñon, Hospital Management Office (HMO) Head Dr. Cynthia Cabangal-Ng, Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) Head Dr. Jerry Bionat, and Public Employment Service Office (PESO) head Francisco Heler, Jr., among others. (PNA)
