Personnel of the Coast Guard District Southwestern Mindanao (CGDSWM) apprehended a 32-year-old inbound passenger with a positive swab test result for coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) last Aug. 5 at the port of Dapitan City, Zamboanga del Norte.
The passenger was apprehended after the CGDSWM personnel and port policemen properly profiled and checked all inbound passengers upon arrival of the Roll-on, Roll-off (RoRo) vessel from Dumaguete City.
The CGDSWM said in a statement Monday that all arriving passengers are required to present Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) negative test results as mandated by Executive Order No. 21-63-A issued by the Zamboanga del Norte Task Force Covid-19.
“One of the passengers, a 32-year-old individual, presented his RT-PCR test result that declared him as positive for Covid-19,” the CGDSWM said in a statement.
The Coast Guard said that upon coordination, the Provincial Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) transported the Covid-19 positive passenger to a designated isolation facility, in accordance with local quarantine protocols.
Meanwhile, the Provincial IATF requested the Port Management Office–Zamboanga del Norte to investigate the incident, disinfect the vessel, and identify close contacts of the infected passenger for immediate isolation.
The vessel was temporarily suspended pending disinfection and release of RT-PCR test results of primary to tertiary close contacts of the Covid-19 positive passenger.
The CGDSWM reminded all its units to strictly implement health and safety protocols within their areas of responsibility, in an effort to curb the spread of Covid-19.
According to DOH-9, the province of Zamboanga del Norte has total confirmed Covid-19 cases of 4,999 with 4,103 recoveries, 731 active cases, and 164 deaths as of August 3.
Source: Philippines News Agency