Cebu City allocates P11 million for quarantine of expatriated Cebu City residents from China

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Cebu City government has allocated P11 million to operationalize quarantine or isolation sites in the city’s barangays amid the 2019 novel coronavirus threat.

City Councilor David Tumulak said the quarantine sites will cater to those passengers arriving from China, Hong Kong, and Macao are required to undergo the 14-day quarantine.

“Today, the city government allocated P11 million for the PPEs (personal protective equipment) for the barangay health workers, nurses and doctors, Department of Health, City Health Department and the Bureau of Immigration,” Tumulak said in a press conference with the DOH-7 on Wednesday, February 5, 2020.

Those passengers that will be referred to the barangay quarantine sites are those that are residents of Cebu City but do not qualify according to the guidelines of home quarantine as specified by the Executive Order issued by Governor Gwendolyn Garcia.

Under Garcia’s Executive Order no. 5, an arriving passenger may only be put under home quarantine if his home has a separate room where he can stay “without sharing immediate space.”

The household should also not have a child below 10 years old or an elderly older than 60 years old.

Passengers that will be in quarantine in their homes, in the DOH-designated facilities, or in the barangay quarantine sites are considered as persons under monitoring (PUMs). /rcg

This means that they do not manifest symptoms of the infection but are being monitored because of their recent travel history.

Tumulak said the city government will be holding a dialogue with barangay officials to explain that the PUMs are not 2019-nCoV positive.

The councilor admitted that some barangays are hesitant to set up their quarantine sites because of fear that the PUMs will bring the infectious virus to their community. /rcg