PDLs to be COVID-19 tested before commitment to QC Jail – Belmonte

Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte on Sunday said the city government would require coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) testing on persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) before they were committed to a detention facility in the city.

Belmonte signed Executive Order No. 30 after the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) and the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) reported cases of COVID-19 in their respective detention facilities.

“We have installed guidelines that will be observed when the court orders the commitment of a PDL to a detention facility managed by the BJMP,” Belmonte said in a statement.

“The guidelines will likewise cover those arrested by authorities before they are detained in a police precinct or facility,” she added.

After the court orders the commitment of an inmate at the Quezon City Jail (QCJ), the order mandates that the BJMP coordinate with the city health department to arrange for the PDL’s COVID-19 testing in a separate quarantine facility.

The PDL will remain in the quarantine facility while waiting for his or her test results. The PDL will then be transferred to the QCJ if the result turns out negative.

However, if the PDL is positive, he or she will remain in the quarantine facility for treatment or will be moved to another facility as determined by the city health department. The PDL will only be committed to the QCJ if he or she is cleared of infection.

Meanwhile, arrested PDLs will undergo mandatory medical examinations. If they require COVID-19 testing, the QCPD shall notify the city health department immediately.

“If the PDL is found positive for COVID-19, the PDL shall be placed in a quarantine facility designated by the QCPD and City Health for isolation and treatment,” Belmonte said.

Before a PDL is released from the QCJ or any QCPD-run detention facility, he or she will undergo a medical exam to determine whether COVID-19 testing is necessary.

Belmonte also urged the BJMP and the QCPD to conduct regular health monitoring of inmates in their custody and immediately notify the city health department shall any detainee exhibit symptoms such as fever, shortness of breath, body aches, and dry cough.

So far, Quezon City has 1,312 cases of COVID-19, including 129 deaths and 242 recoveries. — DVM, GMA News