QC cries foul over Arayat restrictions
After the confirmation that a resident of Quezon City (QC) contracted the new Covid-19 strain, Arayat Mayor Emmanuel Alejandrino imposed travel restrictions on residents of the National Capital Region’s most populous area.
Alejandrino said they want to ensure that the spread of the new variant will not spread to the Pampanga town.
QC residents can pass through Arayat but must stay in their vehicles. For Arayat residents who work in Quezon City, they are required to show their medical certificates and negative Covid-19 test results. Checkpoints in all entry and exit points have been set up.
“The travel restriction is not to discriminate against people coming from Metro Manila but to adhere to strict health and safety protocols,” the mayor said.
The QC local government denounced Arayat’s decision as it was “totally without basis, can cause undue panic and is tantamount to discrimination.”
“For the enlightenment of the Arayat local government unit (LGU) which obviously did not refer to official news reports and health experts and to emphasize the following points again, the traveler who tested positive for the UK variant of Covid-19 did not set foot in Quezon City at any time upon his return to the country from Dubai on 7 January,” a QC statement read.
The male patient stayed in a quarantine hotel as part of the 14-day mandatory quarantine period. He was tested on 7 January upon arrival. He was confirmed positive the day after. His sample was sent to the Philippine Genome Center and on 13 January, QC and its health department were informed by the Department of Health that the Kamuning resident has the so-called United Kingdom variant.
The travel restriction is not to discriminate against people coming from Metro Manila but to adhere to strict health and safety protocols.
“Since 8 January, he has been staying at a facility where he remains up to this day for treatment,” the QC statement added.
A total of 143 individuals who were considered contacts have been identified, quarantined and were being monitored. Among them were more than 30 healthcare and village workers who assisted and cared for the patient when he was transferred from the quarantine hotel in Manila to the QC isolation facility after he was tested positive for the virus.