DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 19 February) – At least 49 youth offenders being housed at the Davao City Children’s Village or Bahay Pagasa, a temporary shelter of the local government for children in conflict with the law (CICL), tested positive of coronavirus disease (Covid-19), City Health Office (CHO) acting head Dr. Ashley Lopez said.
A total of 105 CICL at the facility in Barangay Bago Oshiro, Tugbok District were swabbed, he said.
In an interview over Davao City Disaster Radio (DCDR 87.5), Lopez said local health authorities have taken drastic measures to contain the outbreak at the facility and provided isolation tents for every infected resident.
He said the patients could not be transferred to the temporary treatment and monitoring facilities for fear that they might escape since those facilities are not strictly guarded.
According the website of the local government, the children’s village is a temporary shelter for CICL “whose cases have been filed in court and are waiting for disposition.”
Lopez said additional security personnel and medical staff have been deployed to the children’s village, which has been on lockdown for 10 days as of Friday, to monitor and provide them medical assistance.
“There were three who escaped (early this week) but we were able to retrieve those guys in a matter of few hours because they lived near Tugbok,” he said.
He said the patients are asymptomatic.
“They have good resistance, so we don’t expect any complications from this group. As we know, based on the data, those who are usually vulnerable to complications are the senior citizens,” he added.
As of February 18, DOH-Davao reported 50 new cases, bringing the total to 19,204, with 1,824 active ones, 16,585 recoveries, and 795 deaths in the region.
Of the total, Davao City, which reported the highest COVID-19 incidence in Mindanao, tallied 12,607 cases, with 881 active ones, 11,117 recoveries, and 609 deaths.
Davao de Oro reported 1,065 cases, Davao del Norte 2,810, Davao del Sur 1,307, Davao Occidental 211, and Davao Oriental 1,204. (Antonio L. Colina IV/MindaNews)
