City Hall closed for three days

The steady increase in coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases at the Iloilo City Hall prompted Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas to shut down the building for three-days and give way to the massive swab testing of all the employees.

Dr. Gold Calsas, head of the City Epidemiological and Surveillance Unit (CESU), reported on Tuesday that COVID-19 cases detected at the City Treasurer Office (CTO) located on the first floor of the City Hall rose to 33, while 75 employees yielded negative results.

“As of today, COVID-19 cases at the CTO are already at 33 following the new cases recorded yesterday. But 75 employees of the CTO already tested negative for COVID-19,” she said in a press conference on Tuesday.

Operations of the CTO have been suspended since Monday after 29 of its employees tested positive for Covid-19.

Health authorities identified the index case (first patient) who is a 46-year-old female employee who exhibited severe symptoms on Sept. 1 but continued to report for work until Sept. 6.

“In so far as the index case is concerned, ang ginhalinan or the first case was a female employee who manifested severe symptoms of COVID-19 but continued reporting for duty from September 1-6 so between that period dira gid ang possible transmission sa workplace,” Calsas explained.

Treñas ordered the three-day closure at the Iloilo City Hall starting Wednesday, Sept 23 to Sept 25, 2020.

According to the mayor, the three-day period will be allotted to the massive swab testing of all City Hall employees and officials.

Treñas stressed that employees or officials without negative real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test results will not be allowed to enter the City Hall.

“All employees and officials of the City Hall will be swabbed. Schedule will be given to each department. Any employee or official without a negative RT-PCR test result will not be allowed inside the premises of the City Hall,” he said.
Testing of the City Hall employees will start on Wednesday at the Iloilo Freedom Grandstand. (ERS)