In Albay, tight watch ordered as sea vessels carrying infected crew drop anchor

QUARANTINE AT SEA Crew members of a tugboat and a barge carrying coal from Indonesia will be quarantined in the vessels (upper right) anchored more than 8 kilometers from the coastline of Sto. Domingo, Albay, after 12 of the 20 people aboard tested positive for COVID-19. —MARK ALVIC ESPLANA

LEGAZPI CITY, Albay, Philippines — The tugboat and barge carrying crew members who tested positive for COVID-19 dropped anchor off the coastline of Sto. Domingo, Albay, on Tuesday morning after authorities prevented it from docking in the town, the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) in Bicol region said.

Authorities have set in place contingency measures after TB Clyde and MB Claudia, which are carrying 8,000 metric tons of coal, arrived at 4:45 a.m.

The vessels are anchored some 8.7 kilometers off the coastline. Claudio Yucot, OCD Bicol chief, said a team formed to manage the situation had set up measures to prevent the spread of infection from the vessels’ crew who came from Indonesia.

“The incident management team, led by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), said the tugboat and barge would not be allowed to dock, nor any passenger to disembark, unless there was an urgent need to do so,” Yucot said.

“These vessels are now being tightly guarded that even fishermen are not allowed to get near them,” he added. The Department of Health (DOH) said the vessels would be subjected to quarantine procedures while at sea.

Dr. Aurora Daluro, DOH Regional Epidemiologist and Surveillance Unit chief, said that while only 12 of the 20 crew members were infected, all those aboard would be subjected to a 14-day quarantine. One of those infected disembarked at a port in Butuan City.

It was not clear, however, if the crew member had been put on quarantine in Butuan.

Daluro said a repeat swab test would be done after seven days and in succeeding weeks until the crew members would test negative for the virus. She said only moderate, severe and critical cases would be transferred to the nearest COVID-19 referral hospital here.

Capt. Wilmo Maghirang, deputy commander of PCG Bicol, said the vessels’ captain told him in a radio conversation that all crew members were “malakas pa sa kalabaw (stronger than a carabao).”

The 11 infected remaining in the vessel were asymptomatic and in good condition. The crew members were tested for COVID-19 when the vessels docked in Butuan City. The vessels, however, were allowed to sail to Albay while the test results had yet to be released.

—MAR S. ARGUELLES