Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles on Sunday said the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID) is now discouraging home-based quarantine for those who will be tested positive for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) even if they are asymptomatic.

In a radio interview, Nograles said home quarantine posed greater risk of virus infection.

“When it comes to quarantine, we are discouraging home quarantine, it should be facility quarantine,” he said.

“One of the things we observed is a lot of those infected with COVID undergo home quarantine… What is dangerous in home quarantine is there are big chances of infection… we are now shifting ? even if they are asymptomatic, they will be given priority to undergo facility quarantine,” he added.

Nograles said the government still has a lot of quarantine facilities that can accommodate mild cases.

In terms of lockdown, he said during their meeting with the Metro Manila Council, they told them that localized quarantine must be 14 days also.

“For community lockdown, two or three days quarantine is not enough. They should still do it for 14 days. Just like what we are doing in IATF, every 15th and 30th we give a community quarantine level in different areas in the Philippines, it should be the same on localized lockdown,” Nograles said.

"Our local government units also have powers… if you are strict in one barangay (lockdown), it should be 14 days,” he added.

Nograles reiterated the government’s plea to the public to always practice minimum health standards such as wearing face masks, frequent hand washing, and observing social distancing to prevent the virus from further spreading.

"Whether under GCQ (general community quarantine), under MGCQ (modified general community quarantine),the virus remains so that the public must be safe,” he said.

Nograles said the IATF will meet on Monday to come up with a recommendation to President Rodrigo Duterte on new quarantine classification in the country starting July 16. Ella Dionisio/DMS