ILOILO – The Department of Health (DOH) Region 6 reconsidered its earlier decision to classify as persons under monitoring (PUMs) all residents of Guimbal town.
In an advisory released late last night, Director Marlyn Convocar stated, “since the municipality of Guimbal is on enhanced community quarantine, all persons are (already) on strict quarantine (not all are PUMs).”
On Wednesday, DOH-6 declared all Guimbalanons as PUMs after confirming a local transmission of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), thus they were all prohibited from leaving their homes for two weeks.
Last night, however, DOH-6 made a turnaround.
“We advise that there shall be strengthened home quarantine in (only) the two barangays where the confirmed cases are located,” announced Convocar.
The first Guimbal resident – a 59-year-old male – to test positive for COVID-19 and became the region’s Patient No. 2 apparently infected his househelp, a 51-year-old woman (now the region’s Patient No. 18).
“(Only) heightened monitoring and social distancing shall be observed in other barangays,” according to Convocar last night.
“May this clarify the previous declaration of DOH Western Visayas,” she added.
Under DOH’s interim guidelines on the management of PUMs, these people must be subject to home quarantine for 14 days.
“Those undergoing home quarantine shall be prohibited to leave their rooms/homes where they are quarantined until they have been certified by the local health official to have finished the 14-day requirement for quarantine procedures,” read part of the guidelines (II. Guidelines, C) issued on Feb. 17, 2020 (Department Memorandum No. 2020-0090).
The Garins, the political kingpins in the 1st District, questioned the PUM classification of all the people of Guimbal.
The more practicable thing to do, according to Vice Gov. Christine Garin who was formerly a mayor of Guimbal, was to consider as PUMs only the residents of the barangay where Guimbal’s two confirmed cases of COVID-19 hailed.
“Kon PUMs ang tanan nga taga-Guimbal, indi na sila ka gwa. Paano sila makabakal bulong, pagkaon,” asked Garin whose father Oscar is the Guimbal mayor.
Guimbal has over 4,000 households, she added.
On Wednesday, Dr. Renilyn Reyes, head of DOH-6’s Public Health Program Development, said they took their cue from DOH central office. After local transmissions were confirmed in Metro Manila, people there were considered PUMs as a precautionary measure.
Also part of the measure was quarantining the National Capital Region.
“The same should be observed in Guimbal,” said Reyes.
She did not discount the possibility that there could be other COVID-19 positive persons in Guimbal./PN
