Gov’t mulls strict ‘no home quarantine’ for COVID-19 patients

MANILA, Philippines — The government is eyeing to strictly implement the “no home quarantine” for COVID-19 patients to avoid transmission of the virus to members of their household, Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said on Tuesday.

“Magkakaroon ng amendment yung JMC (Joint Memorandum Circular) ng DOH (Department of Health) at DILG (Department of the Interior and Local Government), kasi dati ang ginawa natin talagang kapag may sariling kwarto, sariling CR (comfort room) at walang co-mordibities ay pwede mag-home quarantine so what we are going to do is strictly implement the ‘no home quarantine,’” Año told CNN Philippines to clarify the government’s policy about quarantining COVID-19 patients.

(There will be an amendment for the JMC of DOH and DILG because before we are allowing home quarantine for those with their own rooms, comfort rooms and those with no comorbidities so what we are going to do is strictly implement our ‘no home quarantine’ policy)

“Kasi mayroon naman tayong COVID hotels na kung saan pwede sila mag-isolate, very important kasi na talagang malabas sila sa bahay kasi nahahawa yung pamilya, no. That is for the good, for the sake of family members,” he added.

(Because we have hotels for COVID-19 where they can undertake isolation, it is important for them to go outside because the family will be infected. That is for the good, for the sake of family members.)

Año, however, assured the public that there will be exemption for the proposed strict “no home quarantine.”

“Of course, may mga exemption pa rin diyan, at talagang these are exemtions na talagang kailangan mag-home quarantine, i-inspect ang CESU (City Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit) at mga taga DOH kung talagang may reason kung bakit. Like for example yung isa na very elderly na talagang mahirap ilagay sa isolation facilities,” he said.

(Of course, we have exemptions, these are exemptions for those who really want to undergo home quarantine. I-inspect ng CESU at ng mga taga DOH to make sure there is a reason. Like for example, those very elderly who will experience difficulty in transferring to isolation facilities.)

Año, who is also the vice chairman of National Task Force against COVID-19, said the Interagency Task Force (IATF) on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases must approve first the ban on home quarantine before it can be implemented.

Previously, the government implemented house-to-house screening wherein authorities will visit homes to look for COVID-19 patients with mild symptoms who will be transferred to isolation facilities.

As of Monday, the Philippines logged a total of 238,727 COVID-19 infections. This includes 3,890 deaths and 184,906 recoveries.