The Bureau of Jail Management and Penology Region 11 has been baffled by the cause of infection by coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic on one of its personnel.
“We are wondering how he was infected, considering he had undergone rapid tests twice with negative results, and he has also undergone 14 days mandatory quarantine prior to their scheduled changing of guards,: said Jail Chief Superintendent Leo Pajo Baldon, regional director of the agency.
Baldon said the case has prompted the agency to investigate whether protocols were breached.
The personnel, assigned in Lupon District Jail in Davao Oriental, is a resident of Mati City, the capital of the province.
“The changing of the guards in the said jail was already suspended. This is in line with the strict implementation of COVID-19 protocols in jail units,” Baldon said.
” The BJMP observed Nationwide Lockdown since March 20, 2020, where there was a suspension of all visitation rights and privileges, and on top of which, all personnel were prohibited from leaving the jail premises to ensure that the COVID-19 contagion is kept at bay, “he added.
The said Personnel is now undergoing confirmatory tests and awaiting results from the City Health Office of Mati.
The first COVID-19 positive case in the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology Region XI is a personnel assigned at Lupon District Jail in Davao Oriental.
As of writing, subject personnel was already brought to Mati Local Government Unit Isolation Facility.
On May 6, 2020, prior to his assumption of duty, the said personnel with his team were subjected to rapid tests which all resulted in negative.
The said personnel returned from work to his residence in Mati City on June 1, 2020 after his 26 days duty, he underwent home quarantine with strict instruction by his Warden to report to his Local Barangay Health Unit to supervise and monitor his home quarantine.
On June 15, 2020, his home quarantine ended and underwent rapid diagnostic test, together with four other BJMP personnel.
The five personnel were declared negative and were given clearance by the Mati Incident Management Team to resume duty at Lupon District Jail.
On June 18, 2020, all 14 incoming duty personnel and 11 vulnerable Persons Deprived of Liberty (PDL) of Lupon District Jail were subjected to RT-PCR swab test by the provincial government where the said personnel tested positive.
Swab tests of other personnel and Persons Deprived of Liberty (PDL), who were tested together with the said personnel, yielded Negative results.
