MANILA, Philippines—Home quarantine of COVID-19 patients, who are showing no symptoms and have mild cases, was the cause of widespread community transmission of SARS Cov2, the virus that causes the disease, according to the chief implementer of the government’s national COVID-19 response.
Carlito Galvez Jr., who is also presidential adviser on the peace process, said on Thursday night (Sept. 3) that COVID-19 patients who chose to isolate themselves at home increase the risks of infecting the rest of the household.
“I stand by my belief that home quarantine does no good for most of our patients, especially for mild or asymptomatic cases,” Galvez said at a press briefing.
“Like what I said, the disease spreads quickly at home,” he said.
Isolation at home, he said, was one of the challenges of enforcing the government’s national action plan against the pandemic, which he leads.
Galvez, a former Army general, said home quarantine had been the cause of widespread community transmission of coronavirus in Metro Manila, Calabarzon, Central Visayas, Iligan City, Bacolod City and other parts of the country.
He urged the public to be disciplined and restrained while waiting for the vaccine against coronavirus, which was expected to be available by next year.
“Let’s emulate people from Taiwan and Vietnam,” he said. “Because of their discipline, their cases are low,” he added.
As of Thursday, the Philippines has recorded 228,403 COVID-19 cases, with 3,688 deaths and 159,475 recoveries.