4 IMT members yield positive for coronavirus

FOUR members of the Malaysian-led International Monitoring Team (IMT) based in Zamboanga City were found positive for the virus that causes the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).

Dr. Dulce Amor Miravite said in a virtual presser late Monday, August 16, that three of the four are Malaysians and the remaining one is a Filipino.

Miravite said that two of the three Malaysian have been confined at the Lantaka isolation facility while the other one and a Filipino have been housed at the Euntes isolation center.

"All of them are already isolated and contact tracing of contacts have already been done," Miravite said.

Mayor Maria Isabelle Cliamco-Salazar said she has asked the Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom) to investigate how did they managed to enter Zamboanga City.

"I have talked to Lieutenant General Corleto Vinluan Jr., Westmincom chief, and his deputy for operations, Brigadier General Antonio Nafarrete, to make the necessary investigation," Salazar said.

"There are some personalities and agencies who facilitate their entry violating the local government's policy on the requirements of authentic negative RT-PCR (Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction) test result," she added.

The "no authentic negative RT-PCR test result, no entry" policy remains to be the gold standard for all inbound travelers regardless of reason or purpose of travel, as stipulated in Executive Order 674-2021 issued by Salazar.

It is likewise compulsory for all inbound travelers to register with Safe, Swift and Smart Passage (S-PaSS) for the issuance of a travel coordination permit, three days prior to travel date.

Salazar said she will elevate the matter to the Department of Health (DOH), Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), and Bureau of Quarantine (BOQ) for appropriate action.

The Malaysian-led IMT made a courtesy visit to Westmincom headquarters at Camp Basilio Navarro in Zamboanga City on August 4. The team is known as IMT-16.

The visiting IMT-16 comprised of five officers of the Malaysian Army; three officers of the Royal Malaysian Navy; three officers of the Royal Malaysian Air Force; two officers of the Royal Malaysian Police; and three Administrative and Diplomatic Officers of the Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Prime Minister's Department.

The IMT monitor the implementation of peace process between the Government of the Philippines and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. (SunStar Zamboanga)

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