More contact tracing, mass testing needed

By Dolly Yasa

 

BACOLOD City – More contact tracing and COVID-19 testing are needed here following the mass testing conducted last Aug 28-31, 2020.

Dr. Julius Drilon, medical director of the Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital (CLMMRH) said Bacolod City needs to trace 18,588 individuals after 531 residents tested positive in the recent Timeout Weekend Mass Testing program.

Drilon said 35 to 37 individuals should be traced for every infected person, based on the Department of Health (DOH) formula.

Records from the Bacolod City Public Information Office confirmed that a total of 531 Bacolodnons out of the 4,384 who underwent RT-PCR tests during the Time-Out Weekend Mass Testing on Aug. 27-29 were positive for SARS-CoV-2, the virus which causes the disease.

Based on a DOH bulletin in the weekend, Bacolod City had 380 new COVID-19 cases and one death.

Negros Occidental had 89 new cases.

DOH said part of the new cases was from the Timeout Weekend mass testing held in Bacolod and Negros Occidental recently.

As of this writing, DOH records indicated that Bacolod City has 1,846 positive cases and 27 deaths, while Negros Occidental has 1,452 cases and 8 deaths.