Inmates, Staff Test Positive for COVID-19 at Philippine Jail

At least nine inmates and nine employees at a Metro Manila jail have tested positive for the coronavirus, Philippine officials said Friday as rights groups pressed for the quick and temporary release of inmates from congested prisons in the country.

The infected inmates at the Quezon City Jail have been taken to a quarantine facility in Payatas, a Manila district, said Xavier Solda, a spokesman for the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP).

The nine have “common symptoms of sore throat, and some of them are coughing,” Solda said.

Officials said the nine were not known to have been infected with COVID-19 by an inmate who died at the overcrowded jail on March 25. A team is tracking down those who may have been exposed to the deceased inmate. His death certificate had listed the coronavirus as a possible cause of death.

In early April, about 22 inmates who were suffering medical conditions filed a petition with the Supreme Court seeking temporary freedom, citing their vulnerability amid the spread of the highly contagious killer virus.

The number of COVID-19 cases in the Philippines on Friday rose by 218 to a total of 5,878, with 25 new deaths from the disease recorded, bringing the national toll to 387.

Globally, nearly 2.2 million infections have been recorded with the death toll at more than 149,000 as of Friday, according to data compiled by disease experts at U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University.

Also on Friday, the Philippine economic planning secretary who had called for the government to balance its response to the pandemic between health and economic objectives resigned on Friday over “differences in development philosophy” with some Cabinet members, the state-run Philippine News Agency reported.

President Rodrigo Duterte accepted the resignation of Ernesto Pernia as head of the National Economic Development Authority. Pernia had been in charge of establishing plans for the nation’s economic recovery from the pandemic.

In a report last month, Pernia called for the balanced approach. “Otherwise, the situation could deteriorate to a social and political crisis,” it said.

NGOs voice concern

In response to the news about inmates and workers at the Quezon City Jail being infected with the virus, the Philippine office of the International Committee of the Red Cross said it was concerned and “continuing to assist detention authorities with our technical expertise and other support.”

Last week, the Red Cross assisted the prisons bureau in establishing the 48-bed quarantine tent at the Payatas facility.

“We are supporting the (bureau) in expanding the capacity of this facility to 150 beds to respond to future needs,” said Boris Michel, head of the ICRC in the Philippines, said in a statement.

Three other facilities are being established to help the bureau cope with possible emergencies linked to COVID-19, Michel said, adding that officials wanted to make sure they were “functional as soon as possible, with necessary materials, equipment and infection-control training for the staff.”

Solda, of the BJMP, said that the nine employees at the jail who tested positive for the coronavirus had self-quarantined at home.

Meanwhile, local human rights group Karapatan said the bureau must act fast to release those who are vulnerable, including some elderly inmates who are considered political prisoners.

“The mass decongestion of detention facilities is a matter of life and death for the thousands of prisoners in country, especially amid the looming threat of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Karapatan secretary general Cristina Palabay said.

“Reports of inmates being isolated for suspected infection should be a cause for great alarm, especially since quarantine measures such as physical distancing are almost impossible in our overcrowded jails,” she said.

She described these facilities as “ticking time-bombs” and called on Manila to release prisoners on humanitarian grounds.

A Karapatan accounting in the prisons said that apart from the nine Quezon City inmates, about 70 in other facilities were being monitored and isolated. Among those were 30 inmates at a women’s correctional facility.

“The government has the duty to uphold and protect the lives and security of prisoners, most especially amid this pandemic. Any delay can cost many lives – and we cannot waste more time and we cannot afford to lose more lives,” Palabay said.

Edre Olalia, an official with the National Union of People’s Lawyers, which provides free legal aid to detainees, said the claim from some government officials that inmates were safer inside than outside during the pandemic was a fallacy.

He said the government must realize the seriousness of the situation.

“We just have to wait and pray that it is not too late,” Olalia said. “And keep on knocking, if not banging on doors.”