INFECTION FLASHPOINTS: COVID case clusters in City Hall, gov’t offices, and BPO firms

The Iloilo City Hall, government offices, and some Business Processing Outsourcing (BPO) companies logged COVID-19 transmission in their workplaces amid the continued spike of infections.

Data from the Iloilo City Epidemiology Surveillance Unit (CESU) showed clustering of COVID-19 cases in some workplaces in Iloilo City from Jan 1 to 24, 2022.

Iloilo City Hall recorded case clusters with 132 infections.

Out of the 132 cases, 49 were traced to the City Mayor’s Office (CMO), 13 to the Iloilo City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office and Iloilo City Emergency Response Team; City Health Office (8), and City Environmental and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) with seven cases.

Other offices recorded less than three positive cases.

The CESU also reported 121 local cases in seven BPO companies in Iloilo City.

The same clustering of cases were also reported in government offices stationed in the metro.

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) logged 11 cases; Office of the Civil Defense and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) each recorded 10 cases; Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP), and Philippine National Police (PNP) recorded five cases each.

The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) also recorded 18 cases.

Case clusters were also monitored in city hospitals particularly in The Medical City Iloilo (TMCI) with 14 cases, Iloilo Doctor’s Hospital (14), St. Paul’s Hospital Iloilo (12), and Medicus Medical Center (8).

Last week, CESU also reported clustering of cases in banks and other private establishments in the metro.

CESU noted that its record of clustering of cases only involved local cases or those who are residents of Iloilo City.

From Jan. 1 to Jan. 23, the city has already recorded 4,574 cases, or an average of 199 cases per day. (DG)