ILOILO City – The Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) Region 6 is now free from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), according to Jail Superintendent Gilbert Peremne, deputy regional director for administration.
The four BJMP-6 personnel who tested positive for the disease have all recovered and all their close contacts tested negative for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, he said.
Thus, according to Peremne, BJMP-6 operation is back to normal.
“Finally, we can concentrate on our work. We have so many paperwork to do, among others,” said Peremne.
The last BJMP personnel to be cleared was a 52-year-old male from La Paz district. He was initially referred to the Western Visayas Medical Center.
When his 14-day quarantine ended, he was subjected to reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test and the result was negative for COVID-19, said Peremne.
The three other BJMP personnel who recovered from COVID-19 were the following:
* 25-year-old female from Lapuz, Iloilo City (Patient No. 106)
* 23-year-old-male from Banate, Iloilo (Patient No. 100) and
* 31-year-old male from Zarraga, Iloilo (Patient No. 59).
Peremne said BJMP-6 again reminded all its personnel to be extra careful.
He also reiterated, “We still do not allow visitors to enter any jail facility. We have to avoid close contact from people outside. Mabudlay na basi magpareho kita sa Cebu City. Amo na nalikawan naton nga matabo.”
“We ask for understanding. Anyway the inmates are allowed to make videos call to their families,” Peremne added.
People can catch COVID-19 from others who have the virus. The disease can spread from person to person through small droplets from the nose or mouth which are spread when a person with COVID-19 coughs or exhales.
BJMP, an attached agency of the Department of Interior and Local Government, supervises the administration and operation of all district, city and municipal jails.
Visitors were temporarily banned from jails across Western Visayas as early as March as a precautionary measure against the spread of COVID-19.
The inmates’ daily visitation privilege – including conjugal visits – has been suspended indefinitely, said Peremne.
The suspension was ordered by the BJMP national headquarters.
According to Peremne, the jail visitor ban is nationwide in scope.
Western Visayas has 38 jail facilities housing a total of 8,200 inmates./PN
