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Travelers exiting NCR advised to undergo 14-day ‘home quarantine’
FILE: A mall worker uses a gun thermometer to check a customer’s body temperature as she enters on Friday (March 13, 2020) the Fisher Mall, Quezon City. Commercial establishments have put in place measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) in the country.
(PNA photo by Robert Oswald P. Alfiler)
MANILA — The Department of Health (DOH) on Saturday advised travelers coming from the National Capital Region (NCR) who are without symptoms to undergo strict home quarantine for 14 days.
In a statement read by DOH Assistant Secretary Maria Rosario Vergeire, the agency said travelers from the NCR who are out of the region would be considered as persons under monitoring (PUMs).
“Travelers from Metro Manila with fever and or any respiratory symptoms will be considered as PUIs (patients under investigation) and are advised to seek medical attention from a health facility,” the statement read.
Starting March 15, all land, domestic sea, and domestic air travel will be suspended in the NCR after Malacañang declared the region under community quarantine.
Residents of Metro Manila are advised to stay in their homes and avoid unnecessary movements within the area.
All non-essential exit from the NCR will be limited except for health workers, government officials, and those traveling for humanitarian reasons.
“When you say the medical reason, that’s humanitarian so if you are sick, (if) you need to get medicine in Metro Manila or outside Metro Manila, of course, you are allowed, we won’t stop you because that is essential for your life,” Vergeire said in a virtual press conference.
The official, however, clarified that such cases would require a certificate coming from a “competent authority” on the medical reason why the person needs to exit or enter NCR.
