Nurse Evicted from Boarding House After Telling Landlady She Has Covid-19

• A nurse who contracted Covid–19 was forced to leave a boarding house in Makati, Philippines after the owner kicked her out.
• She wandered for days until a staff from the Philippine Red Cross rescued her.
• Due to the lockdown, she could not go back to her hometown Batangas, a province over 100 km away from the city.
• Makati City Mayor Abigail Binay already ordered for an immediate investigation on the matter.

A Filipino nurse who contracted Covid-19 wandered and slept on the streets after her landlady kicked her out of a boarding house in Makati.

According to Dr. Zenaida Beltejar, the nurse – who works at a medical insurance company as a customer service representative – tested positive with the virus on August 2, and promptly informed the owner of the building. However, instead of helping her, she evicted the nurse.

In an interview, the nurse said the landlady told her to leave before her roommates arrive. With no other place to go, she checked into a hotel in Pasay. Two days later, she went to the barangay health center in Olympia.

“She then went to Barangay Olympia Health Center to seek help, but an employee said it was closed,” the doctor recounted.

“They told her the health center is closed because someone is being swabbed (for Covid). She was told,’ I’ ll tell you the truth, they can’t help you here. This is the number of the CESU, just call them,’ Then, nothing more,” Dr. Beltejar said.

The nurse wanted to go to her home in Batangas, but there are no means of public transportation due to the lockdown. Moreover, her family won’t be able to pick her up. She will only be allowed to travel if she tested negative to the virus.

The nurse walked around for days until a staff from the Philippine Red Cross came to her rescue. Apparently, a friend of hers informed the organization about her situation.

According to local media, the group picked her up near the corner of South Avenue and J.P. Rizal in Makati City on August 5.

“She was there, sitting on the gutter carrying her clothes. It was too painful to imagine people who have been working, helping other people, then seeing them in that kind of situation,” Dr. Beltejar lamented.

The nurse is currently at a quarantine facility at the Quezon Institute in Quezon city.

Makati City Mayor, Abigail Binay ordered an immediate investigation on the matter.

On Monday, city legal officer Michael Camiña said, “Makati has existing facilities and protocols to handle COVID-19 cases. It is unfortunate that this happened to the nurse in this case.”

PRC Chairman Senator Richard Gordon, meanwhile, commented that the landlady, the barangay official, and the company the nurse works for, are all accountable.

“Acts of discrimination, including forced eviction, restrictions on housing or lodging, against any person suspected of infected not only with COVID-19, but also other communicable diseases are prohibited under the City Ordinance No. 2020-087.”

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