At least 18 persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) have tested positive for COVID-19 at the Cagayan Provincial Jail.
Jail Warden Catalino Arugay said four PDLs bound to New Bilibid Prisons (NBP) last Monday have undergone swab testing as a requirement. However, the transfer did not push through after one of them tested positive.
The Provincial Health Office is currently conducting contact tracing to determine how the PDL acquired the disease within the facility. Disinfection measures have already been put into place.
“Two days na tayo nag-mass testing. Tuloy-tuloy po ‘yung mga lab test natin. ‘Yun po nagkaroon tayo positive na 18 (We have been conducting massive testing for two days. Our lab test is continuous. We have 18 positive),” Arugay reported.
The inmates who tested positive are asymptomatic. Their statuses are currently under monitoring. They were provided vitamins and were immediately isolated. The other inmates and facility personnel have already been swabbed as well.
Jail officers who were initially swabbed tested negative, while the test results of other individuals remain pending.
Meanwhile, the adjacent police and fire stations in Don Domingo, Tuguegarao City had reported transmission of COVID-19. Those infected were placed under strict isolation. – Report from Oliver Baccay/PIA Cagayan
