Nurse with COVID-19 slept on streets after eviction from boarding house

Working as caregiver of the frail and the unwell, a female nurse suddenly found herself like an outcast after she was kicked out of her boarding house when she was  diagnosed with COVID-19.

Evicted by her landlady, the nurse was forced to wander for days and sleep on the streets until she was rescued by a Philippine Red Cross (PRC) personnel on a sidewalk near the corner of South Avenue and J.P. Rizal in Makati City, according to a report by Mariz Umali on "24 Oras."

“Nandoon siya, as in nakaupo sa gutter tapos hawak-hawak niya ‘yong mga damit niya. Sobrang sakit kasi imagine people who have been working, helping other people tapos nasa ganoong sitwasyon,” Dr. Aida Beltejar said.

According to Beltejar, the nurse told her that she tested positive for the illness on August 2 and immediately informed her landlady. However, instead of helping her, the landlady evicted her from her home.

The nurse then went to the health center of Barangay Olympia in Makati to seek help but the barangay personnel told her that it was closed.

“Sabi sarado ang health center nila kasi may nagpapa-swab daw. (Ang sabi raw sa kaniya), ‘sasabihin ko sayo ang totoo, hindi ka matutulungan dito. Tapos ito ang number ng CESU, tawagan mo na lang.’ Sabay wala na,” Beltejar said.

The nurse said she wanted to go home to Batangas but there was no transportation available due to the lockdown.

She is now isolated at the Quezon Institute in Quezon City.

Meanwhile, the Makati City government said Mayor Abigail Binay already ordered an immediate investigation on the matter.

Under the City Ordinance No. 2020-087, which was approved on April 8, acts of discrimination, including forced eviction, restrictions on housing or lodging, against any person suspected of infected not only with COVID-19, but also other communicable diseases are prohibited.

Violators may face a P5,000 fine on the first and second offenses with an additional one-year jail term on succeeding violations.

“It’s a wake-up call for the different sectors that we all have to be on the same page. Dapat lahat alam ‘yong ginagawa at hindi lang ‘yong particular sector kasi ang nangyari dito dahil sarado ‘yong mismong health care center, hindi as informed ‘yong barangay official or barangay personnel na nandoon na baka hindi niya alam ‘yong proper protocol,” Makati City government spokesperson Atty. Michael Camiña said.

Meanwhile, PRC chairman Senator Richard Gordon said the landlady, barangay official and the company of the nurse were at fault.

“Mali talaga ‘yong landlady. Dapat bayanihan nga eh tutulungan. Tapos ‘yong barangay na pinuntahan niya sinabi ‘wala kaming maitutulong sayo, tawagan mo itong number na ‘to kung saan ‘yon ‘yong epidemiology service na operation.’ Dapat ‘yong kompanya, hindi na muna siya pinaalis doon, sinecure na muna siya doon hanggang makakuha siya ng tulong kung saang isolation ward siya dadalhin,” Gordon said.

GMA News already reached out to the landlady, barangay official and the company of the nurse but has yet to get a response as of posting time. —Ma. Angelica Garcia/LDF, GMA News