ILOILO City – A personnel of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) Region 6 based here tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
This personnel was part of the 20 BJMP frontline jail officers subjected to testing on April 20, according to Jail Superintendent Gilbert Peremne, deputy regional director for administration.
The result was released yesterday.
Peremne assured the people of Western Visayas that the bureau is continuously monitoring the health of all inmates in the region.
There is not a single COVID-19 case among inmates so far, he stressed.
BJMP, an attached agency of the Department of Interior and Local Government, supervises the administration and operation of all district, city and municipal jails.
The COVID-19-positive BJMP personnel, 31 years old and assigned as the regional office’s driver, was asymptomatic and thus immediately placed at the isolation facility in his hometown, Zarraga, Iloilo, said Peremne.
“Wala ina sia naka-travel to other places. Even before the implementation of the enhanced community quarantine in Iloilo, naka-lockdown ahead kami tanan nga BJMP personnel as a precautionary measure,” stressed Peremne.
People can catch COVID-19 from others who have the virus. The disease can spread from person to person through small droplets from the nose or mouth which are spread when a person with COVID-19 coughs or exhales.
These droplets also land on objects and surfaces around the person. Other people then catch COVID-19 by touching these objects or surfaces, then touching their eyes, nose or mouth.
But as a consequence of this BJMP personnel’s positive test result, 60 other BJMP personnel – including Peremne – who had close contact with the former were deemed persons under monitoring (PUM).
These 60 are now on quarantine at the BJMP regional office.
Peremne also said contact tracing had been launched.
“As of now, wala man sa amon may mga symptoms (like fever and cough). We are healthy,” said Peremne.
Zarraga mayor John Tarroza confirmed that the COVID-19-positive BJMP personnel had been admitted at the municipality’s isolation facility.
The personnel’s family members, on the other hand, were moved to the Zarraga Central Elementary School – the temporary quarantine facility of the town.
NO JAIL VISITORS ALLOWED
Visitors were temporarily banned from jails across Western Visayas as early as March as a precautionary measure against the spread of COVID-19.
The inmates’ daily visitation privilege – including conjugal visits – has been suspended indefinitely, said Peremne.
The suspension was ordered by the BJMP national headquarters.
According to Peremne, the jail visitor ban is nationwide in scope.
“We are doing this as our COVID-19 preventive measure. We are alert,” he explained.
Western Visayas has 38 jail facilities housing a total of 8,200 inmates.
“We are asking for the understanding of the families and relatives of our inmates. This move is beneficial to all,” said Jail Superintendent Mary Chanette Espartero, warden of the Iloilo City District Jail in Barangay Ungka, Jaro district.
She, however, assured the families, “We do allow visitors if there’s an emergency or very important matter” concerning the inmates.
Espartero said the Iloilo City District Jail prepared for COVID-19 as early as February.
An infrared thermometer was purchased to check the inmates’ and visitors’ temperature.
One of the symptoms of COVID-19 is fever.
Espartero said a lavatory with soap and alcohol for hand-washing was also set up at the gate of the prison facility.
NAT’L TASK FORCE
At the BJMP national headquarters in Metro Manila, spokesperson Xavier Solda said the bureau activated its national task force COVID-19 to step up measures in securing jails and the prisoners against the disease.
“Sa lahat po ng ating mga pasilidad, may mga nurses na nagmo-monitor sa ating mga persons deprived of liberty (PDL) lalo na po sa ating mga elderlies. We have roving doctors including medical staff from local health units supporting us,” he said.
Solda said BJMP chief Jail Director Allan Iral has directed to utilize appropriate resources and implement urgent and critical measures to prevent COVID-19 which include:
* Prohibit the entry of symptomatic visitors;
* Enforce the no contact policy (hugging, handshaking and kissing) among visitors and the PDL;
* A distance of one meter /three feet shall be observed when communicating with visitors, PDL and personnel to avert the spread of the disease;
* Personnel and visitors to include service providers should wear face mask and shall pass through thermal scanning before entering the jail;
* Wardens shall provide a designated area for visitation with proper ventilation;
* Availability of disinfectants in strategic locations;
* Posting of tarpaulins and posters on COVID-19;
* Installation of trash bins for infectious wastes;
* Always observe proper hand washing and proper hygiene to protect oneself against COVID-19; and
* Conduct massive information drive on said disease among our personnel, PDL and visitors/PN
