COVID-19 patients have no more choice but to isolate themselves in a government-approved facility as the Palace announces the ban on home quarantine.

“We likewise notify the public that facility-based isolation shall be required for confirmed asymptomatic and mild COVID-19 cases,” says Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque. However, those who are confirmed by local health officers to be “vulnerable” or have underlying conditions, such as pregnant women and immunocompromised patients, are exempted from this policy’s strict implementation. 

Roque also notes that patients who live in regions whose isolation facilities are verified to be fully occupied already may also be allowed to spend quarantine at home instead.

However, patients’ homes must be able to meet the Department of Health and the Department of the Interior and Local Government’s conditions for home isolation under the Joint Administrative Order 2020-0001. The guidelines include having a separate room and bathroom for COVID-19 patients, as well as other instructions set from the department’s Memorandum No. 2020-0090.

Interior Secretary Eduardo Año first announced on Sep. 8 that the government is mulling over the implementation of a “no home quarantine” policy. “We have COVID-19 hotels where they can be isolated. It is very important to get them out of their homes because their family will be infected. That is for the good, for the sake of family members,” said Año.

Header photo by National Task Force Against COVID-19 retrieved from Inquirer.net

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