9 former Zamboanga City PDLs test positive while on pre-release quarantine
ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines — Nine more former persons deprived of liberty (PDLs), who were under quarantine pending release, tested positive of COVID-19 days before they were to be reunited with their families, Zamboanga City authorities said.
The new positive cases brought the number of cases from the Zamboanga City Reformatory Center to 146 positive cases.
The number from the ZCRC, tagged as the COVID-19 epicenter in this city, has also brought the total confirmed cases in the city to 154, including 8 others from the community, according to the local Inter-Agency Task Force on COVID-19 response said Saturday night.
The nine are among the 60 former PDLs who were given liberty through court orders early May. They were on their tenth day of a 14-day isolation and quarantine period.
The local IATF chaired by Mayor Maira Isabelle Climaco-Salazar reported 30 of the 60 former PDLs had also initially tested positive of COVID-19.
Dr. Dulce Amor Miravite, City Health Office (CHO) chief, reported that the initial PCR results of the nine additional cases were negative. They tested positive on a second test on their tenth day of quarantine.
The rest of the PDLs will have to extend their stay for another 14 days and will be subjected to a repeat swab before they will be released to their respective barangays.
The continued rise in cases from the ZCRC has raised concerns on the jails' protocols to prevent the spread of the disease.
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