A total of 25 of the 48 overseas Filipino workers (OFW) quarantined at a hotel in Tagbilaran City were transferred to a resort in Panglao on Friday afternoon.
Provincial Health Officer Dr. Yul Lopez, who is also the Capitol’s spokesperson on coronavirus disease (COVID) 19-related matters, said that the transfer was done as precautionary measure after five of the 48 OFWs showed flu-like symptoms on Thursday.
Among those transferred were those with cough and cold and their roommates at the Crab House where they were initially quarantined.
New accommodations were accorded to more than half of the 48 OFWs even after the entire group yielded negative results on polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing done during their arrival from Manila on Tuesday.
Lopez however did not disclose the name of the Panglao resort after its owner who “just wanted to help the government” asked for his establishment not to be named.
Earlier, a complaint posted by one of the quarantined OFWs went viral over social media as he complained of the poor accommodations at the facility drawing ire from the Boholano public.
Some netizens called out the OFW who has been identified only as Angelo Christian as he complained about their rooms being unfinished, dusty and without bed frames, among other issues.
“Abog kaayo sakit sa ilong makasip-on, ang cr wala limpyoje naa pay sabon
gi molds ug shampoo sa CR,” he said in a Facebook post which has already been deleted.
Local residents denounced Angelo Christian through social media for making such complaints amid a widespread objection against the entry of OFWs into the province and while a travel ban is imposed as part of efforts to keep the province free of COVID-19.
Other netizens however noticed a valid complaint which indicated that proper social distancing was not observed at their room as five people had to share one small room.
“Dili man ni quarantine mura mig baboy naa sa tangkal kay 5 me sa isa ka kwarto
ug ang usa naay sakit matakdan mi tanan,” he added.
It was not clear however if Angelo Christian was among those transferred to the Panglao resort.
Without citing the incident directly, Governor Arthur Yap, after the complaint was raised, asked returning OFWs to not “be choosy” with their accommodations.
“If you think bringing you home is simple, I assure you, it is not,” he said. “If you want five-star facilities, that is not possible at this point in time,” Yap said in a press conference on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, 48 OFWs from Manila and 17 from Cebu arrived in Bohol onboard separate vessels. More are expected to arrive in the forthcoming weeks.
Those from Manila and Cebu were quarantined at a hotel in Tagbilaran City and the Mecedarian Retreat House in Dauis, respectively.
The return of OFWs came after the national government’s Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases approved their trips home even amid stringent quarantine measures and travel restrictions imposed across the country.
The approval came without prior coordination with the provincial government leaving local authorities scrambling to find quarantine facilities for the OFWs.