PENDING the formal lifting of the State of Public Health Emergency, the Department of Health (DOH) is now looking at allowing home isolation for inbound travelers who will test positive for coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
In a radio interview, Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa said he is open to the possibility of lifting the facility-based isolation requirement for arriving travelers who will test positive of the virus.
“The Bureau of Quarantine (BOQ) is under my office. I will probably study and allow that home isolation (for COVID-19 positive travelers),” said Herbosa.
Under the current protocols, any inbound traveler who test positive for COVID-19 are subjected to the prevailing quarantine and isolation protocols of the Department of Health (DOH), which mandate individuals to undergo facility-based isolation between seven to 10 days, depending on their vaccination status and level of symptoms.
Herbosa said home isolation is already being allowed but that it would require a formal request addressed to the BOQ and a letter of consent from the concerned local government unit (LGU).
“The responsibility will be passed on to the LGU to monitor the patient. There are mayors that allow it, there are those who don’t,” he noted.
But what is certain, he stressed, is that such a policy will be lifted once the State of Public Health Emergency is revoked by President Marcos.
“Once the paper is signed, we can now lift all these regulations implemented when we were still in a state of emergency. They just have to be patient,” said Herbosa.
The DOH has already recommended the lifting of the State of Public Health Emergency due to COVID-19. Malacañang has yet to make a decision on the proposal.
