Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 20) — The Department of Health on Tuesday discouraged COVID-19 patients from isolating at home, especially with the rising cases of the more transmissible Delta coronavirus variant.
Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said quarantine protocols will not be revised, but she stressed that facility-based quarantine is better to prevent the spread of the virus in households.
“We agree that home quarantine is not encouraged at this point. We should do facility quarantine so we can better isolate the patient and we can prevent further infection in the community,” she said in a media briefing.
The city of Manila on Monday disallowed home quarantine even for asymptomatic patients due to the entry of the Delta variant. Two cases of the feared variant have been recorded in the country’s capital.
There are now 35 Delta variant cases recorded in the Philippines, including three deaths and eight active locally acquired cases. The variant is believed to be the most transmissible variant of the coronavirus and associated with increased hospitalization.
