By Edwin Fernandez

COTABATO CITY: The city government of Tacurong on Wednesday welcomed 61 returning overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and locally stranded individuals (LSIs), assuring them of full government support to ensure their safety.

Dr. Miriam Roco of the Tacurong City Office for Health Services said the LSIs and OFWs are now undergoing the mandatory 14-day quarantine at the city isolation center.

Roco, concurrent deputy head of the local government unit’s Incident Management Team, said the returning residents arrived from Manila and the number is expected to increase as more Tacurongnons are due to return home.

Aside from the isolation facility in Barangay Upper Katunggal, the local government is eyeing pension houses and tourists inns as additional isolation facilities.

Roco said all the health protocols, as provided for by the local Inter-Agency Task Force on Covid-19, are strictly being observed.

“All OFWs have agreed to be subjected to 14-day quarantine despite having negative swab test results,” Roco said.

The OFWs, she said, admitted they could not guarantee non-contamination while at the airport or traveling back home.

The Tacurong LGU and its IATF on Covid-19 have taken stricter measures following the reported students infected with Covid-19 who were all from Cebu City and arrived home in Maguindanao last week.

One of the Maguindanao students tested positive for Covid-19.

Eleven others who were in isolation at the Maguindanao Provincial Hospital in Datu Hofer, Maguindanao were also found infected.

 (PNA/SRNY/RSP)