A woman who broke quarantine to party in Makati's hip Poblacion district four days before testing positive for COVID-19 claimed she got out of her hotel because of her "connections", the Department of Tourism said Friday.
The woman, who returned to the Philippines from abroad was caught in TikTok posts and Instagram Reels out and about when she should have been staying in the hotel, Tourism Sec. Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said, without naming the quarantine offender.
"Ang narinig nga natin, nagyayabang pa siya dahil naka-skip daw siya ng quarantine. May mga koneskyon daw siya. Lahat ng mga nakasama n'ya sa party na 'yun ay nag-positive tapos 'yung mga nakasama nung nag-positive, nag-positive din," Romulo-Puyat told TeleRadyo on Friday.
"'Yung nakasama ng taong 'yun, they have signed affidavit na kasama nila 'yung taong 'yun. There are pictures, there are TikTok pa nga, may mga Reels, may mga CCTV so it was proven that she wasn't in the quarantine hotel. She was out in the restaurant," she said in a separate TeleRadyo interview on Thursday.
"They were asking her, 'oh you just arrived, bakit kasama namin ikaw?' and I think she said marami kasi siyang connections."
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In a letter asking Berjaya Hotel to explain the breach, the DOT identified the woman as Gwyneth Anne Chua. The name "Gwyneth Chua" was also a trending topic on Philippines Twitter for the second straight day on Friday.
Romulo-Puyat said the woman admitted she broke quarantine and was moved to a different hotel for further isolation. "I made sure, may nakabantay talaga d'yan," the tourism chief said.
"Marami tayong na-give up dahil sa Omicron, ingat na ingat tayo, wala na munang foreign tourists kasi nga gusto muna natin alagaan na hindi makapasok sana 'yung Omicron dito sa Pilipinas pero dahil sa kapabayaan ng mga ibang privileged na tao na sinasabi may koneksyon daw siya, ay ayan nag-spread ngayon ang Omicron," the tourism secretary said. The Department of Health has yet to release the result of the genome sequencing.
"She should also realize the consequences of her action. First, you do not skip quarantine. Tapos nagyayabang pa siya na may koneksyon daw siya. Tapos dahil sa kanyang kapabayaan, nahawa n'ya 'yung mga naka-party n'ya. So this is a health crisis."
Romulo-Puyat reminded hotels to strictly implement quarantine rules.
"Marami naman sa ating quarantine hotels na sumusunod talaga pero 'yun na nga e, nakakainis 'yung mukhang pera lang, ano ba naman 'yung five days na quarantine? Sumunod na sana sila kasi dahil sa kanilang kapabayaan, tuloy, tumataas ang kaso at sana hindi 'yung pagtaas-taas ng kaso ay bumalik tayo sa higher alert level system at magsara ulit," said Puyat.
"'Yun ang masakit nito e, when it comes to health 'diba, ano'ng mga koneksyon? Wala ditong kone-koneksyon. You have to follow."
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