Guests under quarantine at Berjaya Hotel to be transferred by BOQ: Makati official

MANILA— Guests under quarantine at the shuttered Berjaya Hotel in Makati will be transferred by the Bureau of Quarantine (BOQ) to other facilities by Friday, a Makati City official told ABS-CBN News.

"As far as we know, the committment of BOQ is to have all guests transferred within the day," Makati City Spokesperson and Legal Officer Michael Camiña said in a text message, when asked what will happen to the hotel's guests following its closure by the local government of Makati.

"Berjaya, BOQ, and Makati (City Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit) are handling the coordination. We are having the status checked," he added.

Camiña said, however, that he does not know which specific quarantine facilities the guests will be transferred to.

"Hindi po natin alam saan ililipat ng BOQ ang mga guests nila. I think that will also depend sa gusto ng mga guests and their ability to pay for their new quarantine hotel," he said.

The local government of Makati on Thursday ordered the closure of Berjaya Hotel after supposedly allowing a Filipina who had returned from abroad to skip quarantine and attend social gatherings.

This came after the Department of Tourism (DOT) on Wednesday suspended the accreditation of the 3-star hotel for multi-use over Gwyneth Chua's supposed quarantine breach.

The hotel has said that the city government's action was "without legal basis," adding that the tourism department's order is not yet final because it is still subject to appeal.

• Makati temporarily shutters Berjaya Hotel over quarantine breach; hotel cries foul

"On the operations level, if we close down the hotel immediately, where do we send our present quarantine guests? We have 18 guests who have tested positive and who have yet to be pulled out by the Bureau of Quarantine, and 80 who are in the middle of their quarantine," it said.

"The inconvenience to the public is incalculable, unnecessary and preventable," Berjaya added.

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