Laguna mulls ban on home quarantine, urges COVID-19 patients to go to centers instead
MANILA, Philippines — As coronavirus cases continue to surge in Metro Manila, the Laguna provincial government expressed openness to the idea of banning home quarantine for any coronavirus patients in the province.
To recall, President Rodrigo Duterte approved Sunday afternoon a resolution outlining tighter coronavirus restrictions to address a continued surge in cases, including the banning of mass gatherings and non-essential travel in Metro Manila and four provinces in Calabarzon and Central Luzon for two weeks.
Speaking in an interview aired over DZMM TeleRadyo, Laguna Gov. Ramil Hernandez urged citizens not to stay at home if they are experiencing symptoms linked to the coronavirus.
"We're discouraging home quarantine because we're worried about the rise in cases now," he said in mixed Filipino and English.
"Our quarantine facilities aren't getting filled because people prefer to be quarantined at home," he added, insisting that staying in quarantine centers would help curb the spread of the virus in the province.
According to figures from the Laguna Provincial Health Office, there are 1,353 active coronavirus cases in Laguna, while 549 have died.
Per IATF Resolution No. 104, Laguna is among the areas set to be placed under general community quarantine from March 22 to April 4.
In a separate interview with ANC, former Health Secretary Paulyn Ubial said that household transmission is among the factors responsible for the surge of cases in the country.
Earlier Monday, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said that the two weeks of "bubble" restrictions will result in at least a 25-percent drop in COVID-19 cases.
Health officials recorded 7,757 additional COVID-19 infections Sunday, bringing the national caseload to 663,794. It was the second-highest daily coronavirus addition in the country, which has been on lockdown for 370 days—good for the longest quarantine in the world.
"We're really going to be tightening up now... if the people really do not cooperate, we're really going to implement it strictly," Hernandez also said.
— Franco Luna
- Latest
- Trending
