THE 85 LOCALLY Stranded Individuals (LSIs) quarantined in the A.L. Navarro Elementary and National High School in Barangay Alejandra Navarro (Lasang), Bunawan District were finally discharged on Tuesday, Aug. 11.
The LSIs belonged to the first batch of the Hatid Tulong program of the national government.
Angel Sumagaysay, Public Safety and Security Command Center (PSSCC) head, said that 11 public utility vehicles were used to transport the LSIs to their homes after their 14-days mandatory quarantine.
“All first batch of LSIs, a total of 85, was released from the quarantine facility,” he said. “The others were picked up by their relatives.”
The City Health Office (CHO) has disinfected all the mattresses and other things used by the LSIs. The second batch of LSIs is still completing the 14-day mandatory quarantine and will soon be discharged.
All the LSIs came from Luzon. The quarantine procedure was mandatory to make sure they will not spread the COVID-19 to their loved ones in case they had been infected while in transit.
The city government has ordered the interception of LSIs who bypassed the Francisco Bangoy International Airport in Davao City. All inbound airline passengers are required to undergo a swab test before they can exit the airport.
However, the local government found that some LSIs are trying to sneak into Davao City by flying to other Mindanao airports and riding private vehicles. In the first week of August, the Task Force Davao reported that they stopped a total of 207 individuals in the different checkpoints.
One of the sources of community transmission in the city was traced by the City Health Office to the LSIs. Based on government data, the positivity rate for LSIs is about 10%, which is higher than the city’s average.
Out of 207 LSIs, 108 were escorted toward the available testing center while 99 were escorted to exit points of Davao City.
