MANILA, Philippines — Nine Quezon City Jail detainees and nine employees of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology assigned at the same facility have been infected with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), BJMP announced Friday.
“We have nine (persons deprived of liberty) and 9 personnel who were tested positive for COVID-19,” Major Insp. Xavier Solda said in a press conference.
Solda assured the relatives and families of the COVID-19 patients that BJMP will conduct contact tracing.
“Now we are doing extensive contact tracing. We have a team assigned to it,” Solda said.
The BJMP official said the inmates who tested positive for the novel coronavirus were among the 21 PDLs isolated in Payatas.
The Payatas isolation facility can accommodate around 150 individuals, Solda said.
Solda likewise said that the infected BJMP personnel were advised to undergo home quarantine because they do not have severe symptoms.
The BJMP is now coordinating with the Philippine Red Cross for medical treatment and the establishment of quarantine facilities.