MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) on Thursday said the suspension of visitation privileges in all its penal facilities is extended until the Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine is over.
BuCor earlier imposed the suspension of visitation privileges in all its penal facilities in a bid to avert the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 or COVID-19, a highly contagious respiratory disease.
“We should support the program of the govt to control the spread of COVID-19. For now, we’ll follow the quarantine period,” BuCor public information chief Gabriel Chaclag said in a text message.
Initially, BuCor suspended visitation rights for one week, starting March 11, after President Rodrigo Duterte declared a state of public health emergency as cases of COVID-19 in the country continue to increase.
On March 16, however, Duterte placed the entire region of Luzon under an “enhanced community quarantine”. This lockdown will be in effect from 12 a.m. March 17 until 12 a.m. April 13.
Penal facilities that will be affected by the suspension are the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa City and the Correctional Institute for Women (CIW) in Mandaluyong City. BuCor has also suspended visitation rights in its other penal institutions – Davao Prison and Penal Farm in Davao del Norte, Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm in Palawan, San Ramon Prison and Penal Farm in Zamboanga City, Sablayan Prison and Penal Farm in Occidental Mindoro, and Leyte Regional Prison in Southern Leyte.
So far, BuCor has not reported any personnel or inmates infected with COVID-19, a respiratory disease caused by a coronavirus called SARS-CoV-2, which outbreak started in late 2019 in Wuhan City, Hubei province in China.
Earlier Thursday, BuCor disinfected New Bilibid Prison facilities as a preventive measure and protection of inmates against COVID-19.
As of 12 noon March 19, the Philippines has recorded 217 cases of COVID-19. Of the number, 17 died while eight recovered from the disease.