BACK HOME. Repatriated overseas Filipino workers wait for their luggage upon arrival at the Tacloban City airport in this Aug. 30, 2020 photo. The city government of Calbayog in Samar has issued an executive order allowing home quarantine for returning overseas Filipinos starting Dec. 6, 2020. (Photo courtesy of Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines)
TACLOBAN CITY – Calbayog City in Samar will allow home quarantine for returning overseas Filipinos (ROFs) starting December 6.
Under Executive Order 38 approved on November 24, a copy of which was released Friday night, ROFs may opt to stay at home or in a hotel accredited by the inter-agency task force (IATF) addressing the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) outbreak for their 14-day mandatory isolation, effective until December 31.
Earlier, the city government allowed home quarantine for returning residents originating from low-risk areas in the region, with the steady downward trend of its Covid-19 cases in the past weeks.
Mayor Ronaldo Aquino said those who intend to undergo home quarantine must have a separate room in the house, with its own toilet and bath, and there should be no senior citizens, pregnant women, or persons with comorbidities in the household.
"This will be validated by a team organized by the IATF," Aquino said in the EO.
The Barangay (village) Health Emergency Response Team will monitor their health condition daily and immediately report to the city's operation center (Opcen) once the returning resident develops flu-like symptoms.
"In case they opted to stay in a hotel, staff are assigned to do the daily monitoring of possible development of symptoms," Aquino said.
A tarpaulin bearing the words "UNDER 14-DAY STRICT HOME QUARANTINE" would be placed outside the house where the returning resident is staying, with all its household members required to stay at home at all times.
If a returning resident violates health protocols while under home or hotel quarantine, he or she would be immediately transferred to a designated quarantine or isolation facility and would face charges under appropriate laws, rules, and regulations.
Other individuals required to stay in government facilities for quarantine or isolation are suspect, probable, and confirmed Covid-19 cases, returnees from high-risk areas as identified by the city IATF and recommended by the Department of Health, and all individuals deemed necessary to undergo isolation based on the assessment of the Opcen's medical doctors.
As of November 25, the city has confirmed a total of 676 coronavirus cases, with 601 recoveries and six deaths, based on IATF monitoring. (PNA)
