4 Chinese tourists complete quarantine, heading home

GENERAL SANTOS CITY –– The four Chinese nationals earlier placed on quarantine at a drug rehabilitation facility in Sarangani province have been released and allowed to travel back to China.

Region 12 health officials said on Thursday the four underwent the mandatory 14-day quarantine, which ended on Wednesday. They did not show any signs or symptoms of COVID-19 infection.

Dr. Imelda Quinones, head of the Region 12 epidemiology surveillance unit of the Department of Health (DOH), said the four were brought to the General Santos City Airport where they left for Manila on Wednesday.

The duration of the quarantine included the days they arrived in the country from Fujian, China on January 28. The tourists arrived Feb. 2 at a resort in Sarangani, where they stayed for several days until they were transferred to the drug facility in Alabel, Sarangani, on February 6.

The tourists were set to depart on Feb. 6 for Manila and China but were prevailed by health authorities, who explained to them that they needed to complete the quarantine period in keeping with health protocols.

The four, which include two females and two males, aged 10, 30, 31, and 43 years old, did not show any sign of sickness, Quinones told a media briefing here on Thursday.

As this developed, regional health officials noted that Region 12, composed of South Cotabato, Cotabato City, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani, and General Santos City, remained free of COVID-19, with only one person under investigation.

Edited by LZB