Israel pilgrims now on self quarantine, says Naga city health officer

The over 100 pilgrims from Naga City who went to Israel placed themselves under isolation as officials monitor them for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) symptoms. Contributed photo

LEGAZPI CITY –– Some 172 pilgrims who went on a trip to Israel were back in Naga City in Camarines Sur province and are already under self-isolation as a precaution against coronavirus disease (COVID-19), city health officer Dr. Vito Borja told the Inquirer Thursday.

Some 55 pilgrims went home on Saturday, 39 on Sunday, 45 on Tuesday, and 33 on Wednesday. They were all asked to self-isolate and to report their whereabouts to the city health office.

Naga City Mayor Nelson Legacion said three of the pilgrims who were home after joining a pilgrimage to Israel were swabbed to test if they have SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing COVID-19.

“Hopefully, by today (Thursday), we get the results, because the processing takes two days,” Borja told the Inquirer

Borja said the pilgrims who have arrived in the country have been well-informed of the protocols and that they are self-quarantining already.

“My advice is that if they have colds, fever, chest pain, call us so that we can conduct an oropharyngeal or nasal swabbing,” Borja said.

Legacion said the pilgrims came through Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

An undetermined number of pilgrims were still stranded in lockdown in a city in Israel.

Person under investigation

Meanwhile, a person under investigation (PUI) was being monitored at the Bicol Medical Center (BMC) in Naga City, Allen Reondanga, City Events Protocol and Public Information Office chief, said on his Facebook account. No other information was included in the post.

A PUI is patient exhibiting symptoms after traveling from a country with confirmed cases of COVID-19, or after coming in contact with someone who did.

Borja said the patient was not one of the pilgrims who went to Israel.

“This is a patient referred (to BMC) from a private hospital,” Borja said through a phone interview. “The patient was manifesting (symptoms), but still under PUI because there is no confirmation yet from the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine.”

Private hospitals in the city were also asked to prepare isolation areas, according to the Department of Health in Bicol.

A quarantine area in an isolated, upper barangay in the city is also being prepared to possibly house COVID-19 patients if cases are confirmed.

Borja also said those with clinical signs and symptoms with a history of travel abroad or Metro Manila are prioritized to be swabbed.

Edited by Lzb