Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 7) — Local authorities from the regions of Davao and Northern Mindanao have confirmed that some 50 inmates tested positive for COVID-19.
Davao City Health Officer Josephine Villafuerte said in a statement that 30 prisoners of Toril Police Station contracted the virus. This was confirmed through a reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test done prior to their supposed transfer to Davao City Jail on Oct. 1, she said.
Villafuerte said these prisoners were immediately brought to an isolation facility in Toril, where they will be treated and monitored for 14 days.
Visitors are no longer allowed in the station while contact tracing is ongoing.
Meanwhile, Orlando Montalban. spokesperson of the Northern Mindanao Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, said 28 newly-committed inmates at a jail facility in Cagayan de Oro were also infected. He noted that these prisoners came from different police stations in the city.
Montalban said all inmates were asymptomatic and were not exposed to other inmates since they were immediately isolated in Cagayan De Oro City Jail’s own quarantine facility, where they will stay for 21 days.
As of Oct. 6, the total number of COVID-19 cases in Davao Region is 3,485, of which 2,234 are in Davao City; while Northern Mindanao is 3,531, of which 967 are in Cagayan De Oro.
CNN Philippines correspondents Pearl Gajunera and Alwen Saliring contributed to this report.
