ILOILO City – The Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) in Western Visayas imposed a 21-day quarantine for all new inmates entering any of its facilities across the region. The agency would also implement a mandatory reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test.
Last week, at least 153 offenders were quarantined at the isolation facility of the Iloilo District Jail in Barangay Nanga, Pototan, Iloilo.
In Bacolod City, 84 detainees were isolated at the Metro Bacolod District Jail Male Dorm Annex in Barangay Handumanan.
This directive aims to prevent a coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) contagion in prison cells, according to Senior Jail Superintendent Gilbert Peremne of BJMP-6.
“We want to make sure that they are free from COVID-19. We don’t want other detainees inside our facility get infected like what happened in the previous months,” Peremne said.
Most of the inmates are facing drug-related offenses. Their quarantine period is expected to end mid-December.
Peremne also said those who will be released from the jail facility are also mandated to undergo RT-PCR test before they could head home.
“Before releasing our inmates, we have to make sure they are safe and healthy,” Peremne said.
In September, 38 inmates and two jail personnel of the Iloilo City District Jail – Male Dormitory in Barangay Ungka here tested positive for COVID-19.
They were believed to have contracted the virus from an inmate who died on Sept. 16 while being treated at the Western Visayas Medical Center. He was remitted to the facility on July 31.
The 38 inmates already tested negative for the viral illness./PN
