8 more Argao detainees COVID-19 positive; cases now 17

Police officers attend the flag ceremony of the Argao Police Station in this December 2020 photo | Photo from Argao Police Station Facebook Page

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Eight more detainees at the Argao Police Station got infected with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) bringing the number of infected persons at the station today at 17.

Police Major Jeremie Sheila Gurtiza, Argao Police Station chief, confirmed the number of newly infected detainees at the police station.

Gurtiza said that eight more detainees were found to be infected with the virus today, February 26, after nine others tested positive for COVID-19 on February 24.

She said the eight newly infected detainees were symptomatic or had symptoms of the virus.

“Naay mga symptoms of low-grade fever, loss of smell and taste,” Gurtiza said.

(They have symptoms of low-grade fever, also loss of smell and taste.)

Gurtiza said that there were six other detainees that were supposed to be placed in the police station’s detention cell, but they were instead brought to the detention cell of the neighboring police station of Alcoy town.

She said that this was decided because the two detention cells in Argao Police Station were made into isolation cells of the infected detainees.

She said that they could not send these detainees to the town’s isolation center in Isidro C. Kintanar Memorial Hospital for safety purposes because these detainees were facing rape, homicide and illegal drug cases.

 “Dili nato pwede mabutang sa ICKMH kay dagko ni silag mga cases. Dili nato mabutang sa isolation facility nato kay old hospital man gud na siya. Iyahang window, ang uban plywood ra nga gitapak, ang uban sad jalousies,” she said.

(We cannot put them at the ICKMH because they are facing big cases. We cannot put them in that isolation facility because it is an old hospital. Some of the windows are made of plywood while the others are jalousies.)

She said with the old structure of the hospital there would be a high possibility for these detainees to escape.

Gurtiza, however, assured that if the situation would get worse for these PDLs or detainees, then they would have to place them under hospital arrest.

For now, she is coordinating with the rural health unit and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) personnel to closely monitor these infected PDLs.

She also said that the personnel of town’s Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (DRRMO) conduct daily disinfection of the police station and the detention cells.

She said that as a precaution she had placed a cordon outside the police station prohibiting public access inside the station.

Gurtiza, however, clarified that relatives of detainees could still bring food and other needs to their kin. 

She told them to place the food on the table outside the police station and a policeman would make sure that the food would be given to their detained kin.

She also assured that despite the infections of the detainees, the police station would still continue to serve those who would need their help.

For those requesting and the releasing of police clearances, Gurtiza said that they had placed a table outside for this purpose.

However, she also encouraged these people to go to the police station’s training center in a separate building 20 to 30 meters away from the station where they would be accommodated.

She also assured that no uniformed policeman at the station had direct contact with the infected detainees except for one non-uniformed personnel, who had been already isolated. 

Argao is a first class municipality at least 70 kilometers south of Cebu City.

/dbs

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