All village chiefs in Iloilo City to undergo swab test

Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas has ordered all barangay captains in the metro to undergo real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test for COVID-19.

“We will schedule the swabbing of all barangay captains starting with Molo district. We are doing this since we have reports of symptomatic cases already,” Treñas announced Friday.

The order came after the mayor confirmed in a radio report that one village chief from Molo district tested positive for COVID-19.

On Friday, COVID-19 Regional Case Bulletin No. 161 of the Department of Health Region (DOH-6) reported that Iloilo City logged 10 new cases.

This brings the total registered cases in the city to 1,142 with 479 recoveries, 636 active cases, and 27 deaths.

In a previous media interview, Dr. Roland Jay Fortuna head of the City Covid-19 Team said that COVID-19 cases in the metro will continue to rise due to local transmissions and the massive testing of the city government.

“We are expecting it to increase because of the testing. Majority of the cases are still local transmission or those with no travel history outside Iloilo City or the region,” he said.

Meanwhile, new cases where the source of infection remains unknown were also reported.

For the month of August, COVID-19 cases in the metro were steadily increasing with daily recorded cases as high as 88 and 83 on Aug 1 and Aug 31, respectively. (ERS)