Workers entering Olongapo get choice of 14-day isolation or rapid coronavirus tests

Traffic was heavy along the highway at the village of Kalaklan in Olongapo City on Monday (May 18), the first day of work as the city shifted to general community quarantine. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

SAN ANTONIO, ZAMBALES—The city government of Olongapo enforced stricter health protocols, requiring workers from other areas to be isolated for 14 days upon arrival in the city, which is on general community quarantine (GCQ).

This prompted Zambales Gov. Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. to ask residents of the province, who are employed in Olongapo and Subic Bay Freeport, to get rapid testing before returning to work.

Ebdane said the provincial government that Olongapo’s 14-day quarantine requirement would be waived if the workers could obtain health clearance if rapid testing would show they were not infected with coronavirus.

The provincial health office conducts rapid tests.

Ebdane said the provincial government would provide the tests for free “but on a ’one-time’ basis only.”

According to Olongapo City Mayor Rolen Paulino Jr., employees who commute daily to and from their homes outside the city was what the city government wanted to limit because of the risks of coronavirus transmission.

He said the city government was just trying to restrict the entry of people coming from areas that are still on modified enhanced community quarantine to avoid coronavirus transmission.

Edited by TSB