(PhilStar) MANILA, Philippines — The hundreds who flouted strict quarantine rules to visit a popular resort in Caloocan City on Mother’s Day last Sunday should be made to undergo 14-day quarantine as they may have contracted or spread COVID-19, the Department of Health (DOH) said yesterday.

“They have to undergo quarantine for 14 days, all of them, so we can ensure that there will be no transmission among them,” DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire told reporters.

She called the incident at the Gubat sa Ciudad resort “saddening” as “we are doing all efforts to contain this disease.”

She said the DOH regional office for the National Capital Region had already been advised to closely monitor those who gathered at the resort over the weekend.

“We are still in MECQ (modified enhanced community quarantine). Everyone knows we cannot just go anywhere we want,” she added.

The official said the management of the resort should have known better. “They came because you allowed it. If you did not open the resort, they would not come for swimming,” she added, addressing the resort owner.

At a briefing, presidential spokesman Harry Roque reminded the public that swimming is still prohibited in areas under MECQ.

“We understand that the weather is hot and many are excited to take a bath and to swim but it should not be a reason to disregard guidelines,” Roque said.

“I repeat, gatherings are prohibited. That’s what happened to India. Let us not allow this to happen to our beloved country,” the Palace spokesman said.

“Under MECQ, tourism and gatherings are prohibited. The imposition of sanctions is in the hands of the local government. But our message to the people is this: We have seen the gatherings in India… Look at what happened to India. It’s a disaster. We hope we will avoid the disaster that happened in India,” he added.

Caloocan Mayor Oscar Malapitan agreed with DOH’s recommendation and said they are now tracing the whereabouts of resort visitors. The resort had 300 guests at that time based on its logbook, he told CNN Philippines.

The city government has secured the resort’s guest book for contact tracing purposes. Caloocan residents found to have been among the visitors of the resort would be made to undergo swab testing. Some of the resort visitors were from Valenzuela and Bulacan, Malapitan said.