COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Cebu protocols also meant to protect incoming travelers' mental health —official

The mental health of incoming international travelers was among the considerations in the Cebu government's decision to shorten their mandatory quarantine period, a regional health officer said Wednesday.

Dr. Eugenia Mercedes Cañal from the Regional Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit said they have received reports of returning overseas Filipinos (ROFs) or overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) suffering mental breakdowns while in quarantine.

“May iba po tayong nare-receive na (We received some) reports na they have been in the detention center for quite some time before coming back to the Philippines and yet we do not know if they have been afforded proper and humane considerations,” she told ANC.

“‘Yung iba po talaga hindi na makatulog, ‘yung iba po nagme-mental breakdown (Some can’t sleep, others suffer mental breakdown),” she added.

Cebu and national officials have been at odds over quarantine protocols for incoming travelers, with Cebu Governor Gwen Garcia insisting that local policies are enough to stem COVID-19 transmission. 

Under the national government’s strategy, incoming travelers are subjected to a 10-day facility-based quarantine upon arrival, tested for COVID-19 on the seventh day, and released to their hometown for four more days of quarantine if they test negative. 

In Cebu, however, travelers are tested upon arrival and released for quarantine under the monitoring of their respective local government unit (LGU) if they test negative. Travelers are tested again on the seventh day from their date of arrival.

Cañal said this was because barangay health emergency response teams “are activated, are very dynamic in terms of surveillance and monitoring to those ROFs and OFWs who have been discharged when they have a negative result.”

“We would like to entrust ROFs as well as OFWs na parang, ‘Okay, responsibility niyo ‘to. ‘Wag kayo lalabas talaga regardless na na-discharge kayo from hotel and you went back to your respective LGUs,’” she added.

(We would like to trust ROFs as well as OFWs that they will not go out even if they have been discharged from the hotel and gone back to their respective LGU.)

Cañal also maintained that there has “never” been a time when an incoming traveler was released from quarantine and later caused COVID-19 transmission. “I am proud to say that our surveillance in the grassroots level down the LGU are very good,” she said.

‘10+4 is the best strategy’

In a separate  press event hosted by the Department of Health (DOH), Dr. Anna Ong-Lim said studies have shown that the risk of COVID-19 transmission is as low as 0.3% to 1.4% by the 10th day of quarantine.

Lim, a DOH advisor, said the “10+4” strategy was the “compromise” that health authorities have settled on in shortening the previous 14-day mandatory quarantine.

“Dahil alam natin ‘yung hirap ng mga taong napipilitan manatili sa facility ng 14 days, tiningnan din natin kung meron pa bang ibang paraan para mabawasan o mapaiksi ang panahon over which puwedeng gawin yung quarantine process,” she said.

(Because we know the hardship experienced by people forced to stay in a facility for 14 days, we also looked at ways to shorten the quarantine period.)

Lim also said the accuracy of RT-PCR tests for COVID-19 increases to almost 80% on the seventh or eighth day. 

“We have seen how Alpha and Beta variants contributed to our case spikes — we do not want this to happen again,” she said. “10+4 quarantine is the best strategy to protect us from entry of additional variants of concern.” —KBK, GMA News