A PRODUCTION company on Wednesday explained why award-winning actor Arjo Atayde left Baguio City even if he tested positive for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), as officials launched an investigation into the alleged breach in protocol.
Feelmaking Productions Inc. confirmed that Atayde and nine other crew members filming in a closed-circuit setup in Baguio City have tested positive for COVID-19. It said the actor had to be rushed to a hospital in Metro Manila on Tuesday after he started having difficulty breathing and exhibiting a high fever.
“It was the mutual decision of Feelmaking Productions Inc., Arjo’s parents, and doctors to rush the actor, who has a preexisting medical condition, straight to a hospital in Manila,” head of production Ellen Criste said in a statement.
Baguio City is four to six hours away from Metro Manila.
It added that the nine crew members who also contracted COVID-19 are asymptomatic and currently in quarantine.
Baguio City mayor Benjamin Magalong ordered an investigation into the incident. In a statement, the city’s public information office said the production company was allowed to shoot in the city as long as the 100-man crew stayed in a “bubble,” where no one is allowed to go in and out before the shoot wraps up.
Magalong alleged there were instances when crew members would go home and come back to the city without passing the triage and entering Baguio without being tested for the virus.
Feelmaking Productions said it, together with Atayde’s family, has reached out to Magalong to coordinate with the city officials regarding the necessary safety protocols.
“We are grateful for the opportunity to shoot in their beautiful city and apologize for whatever inconvenience that this unfortunate incident may have caused,” it added.
Atayde won the best actor at the 2020 Asian Academy Creative Awards for Bagman.(CNN)
