Iloilo City Hall has been placed on a one-week lockdown after 26 of its personnel tested positive for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
The temporary closure, which took effect starting on Monday, May 24, was ordered by Mayor Jerry P. Treñas for thorough decontamination of the premises and mass testing of the city government workforce.
“All City Hall employees, elective officials, workers, including job-hires and those under a Contract of Service are required to undergo RT-PCR testing, by batches, following the schedule set by the Iloilo City Health Office which shall be relayed to the concerned department/office heads,” Executive Order No. 043 stated.
Treñas said holistic, proactive, and exhaustive measures must be undertaken in order to halt the transmission of the deadly COVID-19.
Of the 26 infected personnel, two have died, according to the mayor.
The City Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit (CESU) said the cases involved 7 personnel from the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO), 5 from the City Treasurer’s Office, 4 from the City Agriculturist’s Office, 2 each from the Compliance Field Office and the City Engineer’s Office, and 1 each from the City Assessor’s Office, Transportation Management and Traffic Regulation Office (TMTRO), Chief of Staff Office, General Services Office, City Health Office, and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Contact Tracer Team.
According to Treñas, COVID-19 “remains a deadly threat to the city albeit the aggressive vaccination roll-out on the ground as the rare of confirmed positive cases have been moving on upward trend with mortality being recorded.”
He added that its high risk transmission continues to imperil particularly those who have yet to be inoculated due to limited supply of vaccine doses.IMT
Photo by Arnold Almacen
