The Department of Health (DOH) has observed that home quarantine of asymptomatic and mild cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is one of the causes of community transmission.
In the recent data of the DOH, more than 4,000 or 8.3% of the total active cases in the Philippines are asymptomatic while more than 44,000 or 88.3% are experiencing mild symptoms, majority of them chose to do home quarantine.
The health department stated that home quarantine is one of the reasons for developing community transmission since the minimum health standards are not properly followed.
According to DOH USec. Maria Rosario Vergeire, “Sa Pilipinas, ang (In the Philippines, the) community clusters comprises of about 84.9 percent, and this is translated to 1,480 clusters.”
The National Task Force and Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) have initially recommended to discontinue home isolation of COVID-19 patients to control the spread of the virus. – Report from Mark Fetalco