COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Home quarantine 'seriously, strongly' discouraged, says DILG Usec. Malaya

The Philippine government is discouraging individuals infected with COVID-19 to undergo home quarantine, saying there are enough rooms in isolation centers to accommodate them.

In a television interview on Friday, Interior Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya stressed that infected individuals, as well as direct or close contacts of COVID-19 patients, must be placed in a quarantine facility.

Malaya explained that the transmission of coronavirus is happening in residences and not just in gatherings or work areas.

"We seriously and strongly discourage people from isolating themselves in their homes even if they have their own rooms and bathrooms precisely because our data has shown that the spread of COVID is not limited anymore, it's not done during social gatherings or in work places," Malaya told ANC.

"The spread of COVID is really happening at homes so studies have shown that even if people are really careful about what they do since they stay in the same household, the chances of infecting the other individuals of the family is high," he added.

"So rather than risk that kind of situation, we highly discourage people from doing home quarantine if they are a confirmed case or a close contact of a COVID cases."

Malaya assured the public that there are still sufficient isolation centers in Metro Manila amid the increasing number of COVID-19 infections.

"Our quarantine isolation centers are not yet completely full. We still have space in our isolation facilities here in Metro Manila," Malaya said.

On Thursday, the Department of Health reported 21,261 new COVID-19 infections, bringing the total tally to 2,304,192.

Total recoveries increased to 2,090,228 with 13,644 new recoveries.

The DOH also announced that the death toll climbed to 36,018 after 277 more patients succumbed to the illness, the highest since August 25.  —KBK, GMA News