Resto says some patrons, staff get COVID-19 after serving woman who skipped quarantine

A Makati City restaurant said some of its patrons and staff tested positive for COVID-19 after the returning overseas Filipino who skipped mandatory facility quarantine visited its premises.

In a statement on Facebook, Kampai said the traveler visited the restaurant on December 23 and stayed from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m.

“It is unfortunate that this transpired in our premises, and has resulted in compromising the health and safety of our customers and our staff," the management of Kampai said in a statement.

"A number of our patrons and staff contracted the virus and are now in quarantine because of the situation,” it added.

Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said that the individual, a woman returning from the United States, was skipped the five-day mandatory quarantine supposedly due to "connections."

According to the restaurant management, the traveler showed proof of vaccination, filled out a health declaration form, and had her temperature taken before she was allowed to enter.

The restaurant also bared that she was allowed to enter the restaurant “since the group she was with had a reservation with us.”

“We had absolutely no idea that she came from abroad and she was supposed to be under strict isolation in an approved quarantine facility,” the restaurant management said.

The management said it was cooperating with the authorities, adding that it would provide information and access to CCTV footage.

It decided to temporarily suspend operations as all of their staff are undergoing testing and self-isolation.

Puyat said the Department of Tourism already asked the concerned hotel in question to explain how an individual was allowed to leave a quarantine hotel before finishing the prescribed quarantine period.

She said that failure to comply with health and safety protocols as ordered by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) could lead to criminal and administrative penalties. —NB, GMA News