Town hall shut down after councilor tests positive for COVID

By Emme Rose Santiagudo

All transactions in the local government unit (LGU) of Igbaras, Iloilo were temporarily suspended after a member of the Sangguniang Bayan (SB) tested positive for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Mayor Jaime Esmeralda said he temporarily halted transactions in the municipal hall to give way for massive disinfection and testing of possible close contacts of the patient.

“Much better na lang that we have to stop all the activities and transactions to give way and madisinfect tanan nga lugar and area kon diiin siya possibly nagkadto,” he said in a phone interview on Tuesday.

Esmeralda said all activities, transactions, including all services of the Rural Health Unit (RHU) will be temporarily stopped after almost three-fourths of the municipal employees are currently being monitored following their exposure to the confirmed case.

“Lain amon sitwasyon paryas sa iban nga banwa nga sa komunidad naghalin ang positive so indi mahamper ang activities sang LGUs. Diri sa amon practically tanan nga mga personnel namon, almost 3/4 considered as persons under monitoring (PUMs) so for the meantime, naghatag ko anay order nga iclose danay naton ang munisipyo,” he said.

RHU patients are currently referred to the district hospital in Guimbal town.

The Department of Health – Center for Health Development Western Visayas (DOH-CHD 6) reported on Monday the first COVID case of Igbaras, a 55-year-old male (WV Patient No. 114).

Esmeralda confirmed that the patient is an SB member of their town.

According to Esmeralda, the patient travelled outside the town on May 1 to attend a birthday party in Iloilo City.

“It was the 18^th birthday of our common friend. We only spent one hour because nagpack and nagkuha lang kami sang ihatag nga groceries sang birthday celebrant kay gusto niya ibulig dira sa banwa instead nga icelebrate,” he explained.

The mayor said they still cannot determine how the SB member was infected.

“Waay pa kami kabalo, amo na gahatag sang problema indi bal-an kon sin-o naglaton sa iya. Ang nahadlukan namon na bala may mga asymptomatic di sa amon banwa kag ang ikaduha pwede man nakuha niya ina sa iban nga tawo nga infected,” he said.

Esmeralda said they have initially traced around 150-200 close contacts of the patient.

On Thursday, a total of 50 close contacts of the councilor including the mayor were subjected to real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test.

The mayor said they are targeting 50 more close contacts to undergo RT-PCR testing on Wednesday.

“So far amo pa lang na naidentify namon but we are expecting around 150 to 200 plus contacts. Sa subong ang pinakapriority namon ang upod niya sa balay, upod niya sa ubra kag ang mga tawo nga considered high-risk based sa protocols of the DOH,” he added.

Until the laboratory results of the close contacts will be released and showed negative results, the municipal hall of Igbaras will remain closed, according to the mayor.

Meanwhile, Esmeralda called for cooperation among the residents of Igbaras following the first confirmed case in their town.

“Sa banwa, nagaayo gid ko sa mga pumuluyo nga maintindihan nila ang sitwasyon sang LGU sa subong. Importante gid sa tanan mafollow kita sa minimum public health standard nga maghugas sang kamot, wear mask, and social distancing. Change your clothes and shoes kon magsulod kamo sa inyo balay and paligo gid,” he said.

On Monday, Esmeralda issued executive order (EO) No. 06-33 mandating the suspension of all LGU transactions in the town until further notice.

The EO advised all residents to stay at home. Only one person is allowed to transact essential needs/businesses outside their residence.

Moreover, entrance of exit of people in the municipality shall be discouraged and limited only to those with essential needs.

The mayor also appealed for understanding among the residents especially for netizens to refrain from discriminating the town’s first confirmed case.

Diri na kita sa sitwasyon nga bal-an naton kon sin-o ang positive, naga-ayo gid ako sa pumuluyo kag mga tawo nagaengage sa social media nga konsiderasyon lang tani and pagintindi. Indi man naton pag isubject ang tawo nga ini sa humiliation and discrimination kay indi niya man na gusto ang natabo sa iya,” he noted.

The health department said on Tuesday that contact tracing on the patient from Igbaras is still currently ongoing.