41 PUM cases cleared in Agusan del Sur province

TRENTO, Agusan del Sur ― Forty-one persons under monitoring (PUMs) who underwent a 14-day quarantine at the Trento National High School covered court which serves as the municipal isolation facility went home to their respective towns of this province Wednesday after getting medical clearance from government physicians.

The Provincial Corona Virus Disease 2019 Task Force distributed the clearance to what they called “graduates” of Covid-19. They are mostly students from Davao City and Tagum City who decided to go home on March 31 but were halted at the border between this province and Davao de Oro and declared as PUMs since they came from areas with confirmed cases of the disease.

Four of the cleared PUMs came from Bayugan City, four from Veruela, two from Sta. Josefa, two from San Francisco, two from Talacogon, one from Prosperidad, three from Rosario and 23 from Trento. They were fetched by vehicles provided by their local government units.

Another batch of 139 PUMs who are mostly construction workers from Davao City was stopped at the boundary checkpoint in Langkilaan, Trento on March 31 on their way home after their company stopped operations.

They were held at the checkpoint before they were housed as PUMs at the Langkilaan Elementary School. They will be cleared on April 19.

In his visit to the PUMs in Langkilaan, Agusan del Sur Gov. Santigao Cane Jr. explained the importance of quarantine as a way to ensure the health of their families since they came from Davao region.

“It is not the intention of the government to make life hard for you in your stay here since the provincial government and the local government of Trento had jointly subsidized your food and lodging while you are still here,” Cane told the PUMs using a megaphone.

To date, the Provincial Covid-19 Task Force has recorded 689 PUMs and 11 persons under investigation. But the province has no confirmed case of the disease yet.

For his part, Trento Mayor William Calvez urged the PUM “graduates” to remain vigilant against the contagion and to help their communities with their experience at the isolation facility as a guide.

Cane also called on the cleared PUMs to help authorities remind residents who would still unnecessarily go out of their homes exposing themselves to possible infection.

All the PUMs will receive relief food packs and cash assistance from Second District Rep. Adolph Edward Plaza. (MindaNews)