QC to sue new variant case’s manning agency for breach of quarantine protocols

QC to sue new variant case’s manning agency for breach of quarantine protocols
CNN Philippines Staff Feb 11, 2021 https://cnnphilippines.com/news/2021/2/11/quezon-city-new-variant-case-m...

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 11) — Quezon City authorities are preparing to file a complaint against a manning agency for allegedly violating quarantine protocols when it transferred a COVID-19 patient to an apartment in the city without informing the local government.

That patient turned out to have the more transmissible coronavirus variant first discovered in the United Kingdom.

Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte said the manning agency, which she identified as Malate-registered Baltic Asia Crewing Incorporated, should be held liable for violating the Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and Health Events of Public Health Concern Act.

“I feel that their irresponsibility has put our community at risk,” Belmonte told a media briefing on Thursday, adding that she will check with the Manila City government if the agency has the necessary permits.

Belmonte questioned why the manning agency brought the patient to an apartment at Riverside Street in Barangay Commonwealth, the biggest barangay in Quezon City, a few days after testing positive for COVID-19 on Jan. 18. The patient got tested after securing a job abroad.

Authorities have contacted Baltic Asia Crewing Incorporated, but there was no response yet as of Thursday afternoon, according to Dr. Rolly Cruz, head of the City Epidemiology and Disease Surveillance Unit. CNN Philippines has also reached out to the manning agency for comment.

The patient's quarantine hotel in Manila should have not allowed him to leave, Belmonte said, but this is under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Quarantine.

She also lamented that the city government was only informed the patient had been staying at Riverside St. on Wednesday, five days after he was diagnosed with the new variant. This is because the patient was initially tagged as a resident of Liloan, Cebu.

Authorities are still waiting for the COVID-19 test results of the person the patient stayed with in the Quezon City apartment. They are also tracing other individuals who had close contact with the patient.

READ: QC to conduct testing, tracing in Commonwealth after transient tests positive for UK variant

Cruz said the driver who brought the patient from Manila to Quezon City via a ride-hailing service should also be contact traced.

The city government is still studying whether to place Riverside St. under lockdown. Certain criteria have to be met, including whether there is clustering of infections, according to Belmonte and Cruz.