The Quezon City Jail Male Dormitory (QCJMD) on Monday, April 25, has conducted Covid-19 vaccination inside the jail facility in Kamuning, aiming to inoculate close to 2,000 persons deprived of liberty (PDLs).

Jail Senior Supt. Michelle Bonto, QCJMD warden, said that they are targeting to vaccinate 1,858 PDLs with booster shots, 33 for first doses, and 15 for second doses for a total of 1,906 PDLs.

The PDLs will be administered the Astra Zeneca vaccine.

According to the QCJMD, out of the 3,291 total population of PDLs in the facility, there are already 3,249 with first and second doses, while 887 have received their booster shots.

It said that if the target number is reached, 3,282 PDLs or 99.7 percent of the total population will be listed as vaccinated, which is the highest number to date.

“Sa pamamagitan po ng pagbabakuna ng mga PDL na naririto sa loob ng ating piitan, sila po ay mabibigyan din po ng karampatang proteksyon doon sa mga variants na parating (By vaccinating the PDLs inside our facility, they will also be given appropriate protection against the variants that are coming),” Bonto said.

“Ito’y bilang paghahanda na rin sa nalalapit po na pagpapatupad ng non-contact visitation, kung saan ang kanilang mga mahal sa buhay ay mapapayagan po na bumisita sa mga darating na araw (This is also to for the upcoming implementation of non-contact visitation where their loved ones will be allowed to visit in the coming days),” she added.

Bonto explained that there will be a designated area for the jail residents and their families to meet once the “non-contact visitation” is implemented.

The PDLs and their relatives will be able to see each other but will be separated by acrylic barriers and will be allowed o talk through telephones.

She said that they are eyeing to start the visitations as soon as possible and there will be a trial run to check how much time will be given to the PDLs.

“Maganda po ito sapagkat magbibigay ito ng mas magandang pag-asa sa ating mga PDLs. At mahaba-haba na rin ang pinagtiis nila sa loob ng dalawang taon. At ipinagpapasalamat din po natin sa mga residente ng Quezon City Jail, dahil sa kabila po ng challenges na hatid ng Covid ay nagawa po naming mapanatili ang kapayapaan (This is good because it will give hope to our PDLs. They have endured a long time -- two years. We also thank the residents of Quezon City Jail because despite the challenges brought about by Covid, we were able to maintain the peace in the facility),” Bonto added.

Currently, the QCJMD still has zero Covid-19 cases recorded.

Bonto said that this was achieved by first bringing persons under police custody (PUPC) to a quarantine facility in Payatas where they will undergo x-ray for tuberculosis screening and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RTPCR) test.

If their swab test results are negative for Covid, they will be transferred to the jail facility.

“Tayo po ay nagpapasalamat sapagkat yan po ay nakamit sa pagtutulungan ng mga jail personnel ng Quezon City, suporta ng Quezon City LGU, ng BJMP-NCR at BJMP national headquarters (We are grateful because we achieved this through the cooperation of the jail personnel of Quezon City, the support of the Quezon City LGU, the BJMP-NCR and BJMP national headquarters),” Bonto added.