20 Isabela families put in isolation.

(From Philippine Daily Inquirer)

CABAGAN, Isabela-Gov. Faustino Dy Jr. on Tuesday ordered the isolation of 20 families in Barangays Casibarag Norte and Casibarag Sur here for 14 days amid suspicions that a returning overseas Filipino worker from Hong Kong had contracted the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).

Relatives and neighbors of the SARS suspect were furious at policemen and health personnel for imposing quarantine on them, saying officials have no concrete basis to impose the order.

The OFW worked for two years in a construction firm in Dubai and later as a family driver in Hong Kong. He arrived here on April 20 and developed high fever, sore throat, severe joint and muscle aches and chills, officials said.

The OFW and his two relatives, as well as the Milagros District Hospital ambulance driver who took him to the Cagayan Valley Medical Center in Tuguegarao City, were placed in isolation rooms intended for probable SARS patients on April 29.

Isolated families

In Cabagan, the isolated families included the OFW's wife, who also arrived from Hong Kong, and two children.