The Bicol Regional Task Force Covid-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) and Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (RDRRMC) have decided not to allow a tugboat and barge with confirmed Covid-19 positive crew members to dock at a port in Albay.
Office of Civil Defense (OCD) regional director Claudio Yucot said they arrived at the decision during their coordination meeting on Monday to prevent the virus from spreading and ensure the safety of Bicolanos.
He said the tugboat that would arrive from Butuan would be kept offshore and no crew members would be allowed to disembark.
“The M/V Tug Clyde and Barge Claudia carrying 8,000 metric tons of steam coal would arrive on Tuesday evening with final destination in New Horizon, Lidong, Sto. Domingo in Albay with 20 crew members, 11 of whom are Covid-19 positive,” Yucot said.
He noted that during the meeting, Sto. Domingo Mayor Jun Aguas Jr. also decided not to allow the tugboat and barge to dock at the town’s port.
“Because of the decision of local government unit (LGU) Sto. Domingo, we were able to decide that the tugboat will be kept anchored at sea and the steam coal must be unloaded for it will cost environmental problems if not disembarked,” he added.
Yucot also said the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) will head the Incident Management Team (IMT) to ensure that no protocols against Covid-19 would be violated, while the Philippine National Police (PNP) will keep watch over the vicinity to ensure overall security.
“Based on the meeting, the Department of Health (DOH) Bicol will ensure that the virus will not spread, and recommended that the vessel (crew) will be quarantined with strict 14 days of isolation. No boarding and disembarking while on the seventh day, all crew will be subjected to reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test, and despite negative results, they need to continue the 14 days quarantine period,” he added.
Yucot also said the DOH-Caraga was able to get specimen samples from the infected crew for whole-genome sequencing to determine the Covid-19 variant.
Meanwhile, PCG Deputy Commander Capt. Wilmo Maquirang said they are ready to assist with maritime security.
“We are coordinating with the master of the tugboat and barge who are currently in the waters of Sorsogon with their current condition, at the same time the crews, and they are all asymptomatic,” he said.
Yucot said Pherwin Shipping Corporation, the owner of the tugboat and barge, will provide all the needs of the crew while on quarantine, and expressed willingness to comply with all requirements of the task force.
For his part, Department of Health-Center for Health Development (DOH-CHD) Bicol chief, Dr. Ernie Vera, said the Bicol Inter-Agency Task Force must closely monitor the tugboat and its crew.
“We don’t want to be a receiving end of a probable Delta variant. We are taking and safeguarding our people, our children. We don’t want it to be like this, this is not a joke. We cannot tolerate this kind of process and an investigation must be done,” he said.
Yucot added that a report will be submitted to the National Task Force for Covid-19 for further investigation of a possible breach of health protocols, noting that the vessel was allowed to sail despite the absence of the crew’s swab test results.
“After this meeting, we will render a report to National Task Force against Covid-19 of what really transpired because the point of the breach is beyond our region, to conduct an investigation and sanction those who have violated,” he said.
The vessel came from Indonesia and arrived at the port of Butuan at around 12:30 a.m. on Thursday, July 14. 2021.
Source: Philippines News Agency
