Returning City Hall workers undergo mass testing

By Emme Rose Santiagudo

Returning employees of the Iloilo City Hall were subjected to mass testing Monday as part of the efforts of the city government’s effort to curb the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

According to Mayor Jerry Treñas, the returning employees underwent real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests to ensure that the City Hall will be free from the disease.

“Importante gid nga masiguro naton nga Covid-19-free ang aton City Hall. Adlaw-adlaw kita nga nagabaton sang tawo sa aton mga talatapan kag kalabanan sang mga government employees naton naga-atubang gid sa tawo,” he said Monday.

The city government has rolled out mass testing in Iloilo City to combat COVID-19, particularly for frontliners.

As of May 15, a total of 2,202 persons were tested for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

To recall, the Iloilo City Emergency Response Team (ICER) had to stop operating after one of them was infected.

Last week, ICER finally resumed operations after ensuring that all personnel are free from COVID-19.

Iloilo City has 17 cases as of Monday, according to the Department of Health – Center for Health Development Western Visayas (DOH-CHD 6).

Only seven of the total cases are considered “active cases” or those who are still infected and have yet to recover.

The latest case is a 37-year-old male from Arevalo district in Iloilo City (WV Patient No. 104). The health department said the patient is currently under facility quarantine.

Treñas confirmed that the latest patient is from the COVID-19-hit Brgy. Sto Niño Sur in Arevalo which was recently placed under Extreme Enhanced Community Quarantine (EECQ) for three days.

Nine of the cases in Iloilo City are from Arevalo district.