Migrant Workers In Philippines Escape Quarantine

Police authorities are searching for seven Filipino migrants who escaped from isolation centres in the Philippines after returning from overseas. 

A spokesperson for the coast guard responsible for oversight at quarantine facilities, Commodore Armando Balilo, said that a worker who had recently tested positive for the COVID-19 virus had been found and taken to a quarantine facility for treatment

He said, “The search operations for the seven other overseas Filipino workers are ongoing.

“They shall be arrested and shall face charges for violating quarantine protocols and for compromising the health and safety of their families and communities."

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The Philippines has received over 26,000 Filipino migrant workers who returned to the country at the start of the disease outbreak, as stated by the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration.

All returnees are expected to stay in quarantine facilities provided by the Filipino Government for a minimum period of two weeks, and would only be allowed to go home after they test negative for the virus.

The time between testing the samples and the revealing of the test results have reportedly been slow, as disclosed by some of the quarantined workers.

Many in quarantine have complained that the facilities have been in unkept states, and not properly maintained.

The Philippines has recorded a total of 12,718 confirmed coronavirus cases after it recorded 205 new cases on Monday.