Chan may use house arrest ankle trackers for returning Oponganons

CEBU CITY, Philippines – In order to effectively monitor the conditions of returning local residents from China, Lapu-Lapu City mayor Junard “Ahong” Chan is considering the use of GPS House Arrest Ankle Bracelet trackers for those who will be quarantined in their respective homes.

Chan said that he plans to utilize the city’s disaster fund to purchase the gadget that will be attached to persons under monitoring (PUMs) and connected to the City Nerve Center.

“This coming Thursday, during their regular session, the council will declare a state of preparedness,” Chan said, adding that this will enable the city to utilize their disaster funds, from the P30 million of unused disaster preparedness fund last year.

The gadget will sound an alarm at the nerve center once detached from the body or once the person goes out of his home.

“The police will go there once the alarm is set,” he added.

He said this bracelet is intended for PUMs who might have contracted the virus but have not manifested any infection signs yet or who are asymptomatic.

For persons under investigation (PUI) or those who have already shown symptoms, Chan said they already have a 100-bed capacity private hospital, which he did not identify, as isolation area.

“Kadtong mga taga Lapu-Lapu nga mangabot gikan sa China, Macao and Hongkong duna na tay kaugalingong isolation room. Ang uban nga naa ra sa ilang mga balay, kani ang pinaka epektibo sa tanan ang house arrest ankle bracelet,” he said.

The mayor is already looking for suppliers of the gadget as he also sought the help of the public to identify possible suppliers.

He said the Bureau of Quarantine (BOQ) will determine who is PUI and who will be classified as PUM, then the city will take charge on monitoring them.

As of yesterday, there has been no reported PUI and PUM cases in Lapu-Lapu. /rcg