SWAB SAMPLES. Local health workers collect swab samples from locally stranded individuals who returned to Maasin City in Southern Leyte in this June 14, 2020 photo. The city government on Tuesday (July 7, 2020) said they would strictly implement the mandatory 14-day quarantine period for all its returning residents and overseas Filipinos. (Photo courtesy of Maasin City Mayor Nacional Mercado)
TACLOBAN CITY – The city government of Maasin in Southern Leyte will strictly implement the mandatory 14-day quarantine for returning residents and overseas Filipinos even if they yield negative for the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) before the end of their isolation period.
“They have to stay in the quarantine facility and complete the prescribed period. On the other hand, if the 14-day period already lapsed but the result is still pending, the quarantine is extended until test results are out,” Mayor Nacional Mercado said in a statement on Tuesday.
Considering the significant number of locally stranded individuals (LSI) and overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in the region who tested positive for the virus, Mercado asked for understanding and patience from the returnees, explaining they cannot take the risk of discharging them without receiving their test results,
“We understand the clamor of our returnees as they have suffered for too long and would like to be with their families already. However, we would like to ask for everyone’s understanding of the delayed results we have been experiencing in the past few days from the only referral testing center in the region that caters to all,” he added.
The state-run Eastern Visayas Regional Covid-19 Testing Center (EVRCTC) here has been receiving volumes of samples from various local government units since early June due to the arrival of LSIs and OFWs.
Due to sample surge, there is an inevitable delay in the release of results, the Department of Health (DOH) said.
Since the outbreak in the country, the city has confirmed a total of five Covid-19 cases, all LSIs, based on the DOH monitoring report.
Meanwhile, Eastern Visayas has confirmed a total of 581 cases, including 352 recoveries and three deaths from Leyte, Biliran and Samar provinces.
The DOH attributed the sudden spike in infections in the region since the start of June to the arrival of returning residents, including LSIs and repatriated overseas Filipino workers. (PNA)
