Updated 4:30 p.m.
MANILA, Philippines — A female paralegal officer of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) was tested positive Monday for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
Jail Chief Inspector Xavier Solda, BJMP spokesperson, said the officer was assigned at the Quezon City dormitory but was working from home, as government agencies only utilized its respective skeleton staff during the implementation of the Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine.
“Beginning March 21, this female officer no longer physically reports for work and has been on a work-at-home status. This set up is allowed since she is a paralegal officer, and her job is basically to monitor cases of PDL before the court,” Solda said in a statement.
The test result came out on Sunday, according to Solda.
Aside from the nature of her work, the officer was also allowed to avail of the work-from-home setup, considering her pre-existing medical condition. Solda said the officer has asthma, hypertension, and diabetes.
He added the BJMP has already conducted contact tracing among its staff to identify those who came in direct contact with the COVID-19 positive officer when she last visited the dormitory.
Those who came in close contact with the officer were advised by doctors to undergo home quarantine.
“Being strict in implementing precautionary measures to protect our jails and offices from COVID 19 does not mean that we are not mindful of our personnel working from their homes,” said Solda.
Solda also assured that protocols were “immediately” implemented following the positive diagnosis and that the BJMP is “doubling [its] efforts” to implement all preventive measures to protect its facilities from the virus.