Malacañang said that asymptomatic and mild COVID-19 patients whose houses do not meet the requirements for home quarantine are now required to undergo facility-based isolation.
In a statement, Presidential spokesman Harry Roque enumerated the factors that can be considered so a patient may be allowed to undergo home quarantine:
- A local health officer confirms that the patient is vulnerable or has comorbidities
- His home meets the conditions set by the departments of Health (DOH) and the Interior and Local Government (DILG)
- Ligtas COVID-19 centers within the region are fully occupied
- The local government unit does not have sufficient isolation facility
In July, the Inter-agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases required asymptomatic and mild cases to undergo facility-based quarantine especially if they do not have their own bedroom and own bathroom.
In the same month, Roque urged asymptomatic and mild COVID-19 cases to voluntarily submit themselves to isolation facilities, saying it will be like a “paid for vacation” with “excellent facilities” as the government steps up its efforts against the pandemic.
“We’re trying precisely to entice them with excellent facilities. It’s a paid-for vacation with air-conditioned facility,” Roque told ANC.
“It’s not as if they are brought to jails. They look like hotels! So it’s not as if they will be sent to solitary confinement. But there’s no other way,” he added.
However, the Palace announced this month that the IATF deferred its decision to require mild and asymptomatic COVID-19 patients to undergo quarantine in facilities.
"The IATF defers decision on mandatory facility quarantine pending consultations with LGUs," Roque said.
To date, the country has recorded 296,755 COVID-19 cases, 5,127 of whom died while 231,928 recovered.