DAVAO CITY – Davao Oriental province has now required all jails and other enclosed areas to have mandatory testing for Covid-19 and to install safety protocols.
Provincial Governor Nelson Dayanghirang has ordered all penal institutions, reformation centers and orphanages in the province to set health safety guidelines and to have Covid-19 testing mandatory “for persons deprived of liberties (PDLs)”.
His Executive Order No. 27 issued on June 8 cited the need to issue “pertinent guidelines and impose stricter measures to arrest the spread of Covid-19 specifically on areas with higher risk of transmission”.
The EO 27 specifically cited as high-risk areas penal institutions, reformation centers and orphanages.
The EO mandates that “five percent of the population in enclosed settings be tested of Covid-19 giving priority to those with co-morbidities, with presence of symptoms, and in consideration of age”. It said the requirement covers also the working staff of such facilities.
Dayanghirang said PDLs must be tested of Covid-19 before they are committed to penal institutions and before they are be released.
If found positive before finally getting into prison, the PDL is ordered placed inside the jail’s designated quarantine or isolation facility that is compliant to DOH requirements”.
If the PDL is found positive for Covid-19 or already exhibit signs and symptoms, he or she would be placed in a hospital or referral facility upon the assessment and recommendation of a medical doctor.
Once cleared of such disease, he or she be permitted to enter the designated detention cells in jails for PDLs who tested negative of Covid-19.
PDLs due for release from jails should likewise undergo mandatory Covid-19 testing by city or municipal office inside the jail facility.
If found positive, the PDL is ordered placed in the designated barangay isolation unit of the barangay where he or she resides, before he or she can be released to the community.
If tested negative, the PDL shall be immediately released to the community, with prior notice to the barangay captain of the village the PDL resides.
Aside from the mandatory Covid-19 testing for individuals in enclosed areas, the order has required minimum health standards in these facilities.
The EO has held responsible the wardens, center managers and other staff and personnel of enclosed facilities for compliance of health standards and guidelines.
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