CCTV AT BADOC GATEWAY. Dr. Rhina Corpuz (middle) on July 2, 2020 updates the province about the current quarantine protocols for returning residents. Ryan Remigo (left), the external affairs consultant of the Provincial Government of Ilocos Norte, talks about the on-going installation of CCTV at the Badoc gateway border for strict monitoring and surveillance. (Photo by Leilanie G. Adriano)
LAOAG CITY – The province of Ilocos Norte is installing a high definition closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera at the Badoc gateway to monitor the entry and exit of persons passing through the border of Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur.
Ryan Remigio, the external affairs consultant of the Ilocos Norte provincial government, confirmed this on Friday as he reported the province continues to implement quarantine protocols and ensure all those entering the borders adhere to the minimum public health and safety standards.
“We will set up a CCTV camera along our borders so we can closely check and verify those who are entering our province,” said Remigio, adding that the installation is already ongoing.
There are around 60-80 locally stranded individuals that pass through the major provincial border in Badoc, Ilocos Norte aside from a growing number of returning overseas workers that undergo screening before they can be allowed to enter the province.
The initial installation of CCTV will start at the Badoc border which has the most number of daily passers.
Regardless if these persons have proof of documents to show that they have completed their 14-day quarantine elsewhere, Dr. Rhina Corpuz, head of the provincial government’s quarantine facilities, said all returning residents must undergo strict facility-based quarantine for 10 to 14 days.
“Conditional home quarantine may be allowed only if a quarantiner has own room with bathroom and has no vulnerable population at home,” Corpuz said.
She pointed out that it is mandatory for returning residents to again complete a 14-day quarantine in the province upon arrival and take an antibody testing, with or without symptoms, before they can be released.
On Wednesday, Ilocos Norte Governor Matthew Joseph Manotoc has confirmed another positive case of Covid-19 positive, a 22-year-old woman from Barangay Duripes, Bacarra town who traveled from Parañaque City to Ilocos Norte and was quarantined in Duripes Isolation Unit.
On June 29, she was admitted at the Mariano Marcos Memorial Hospital and Medical Center in Batac City.
To date, Barangay Duripes is under temporary locked down as more than 20 persons who have close contact with the patient were subjected to reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing on Friday.
The RT-PCR is the standard test for Covid-19. (PNA)
