NEGROS ORIENTAL, Dumaguete City, Aug. 25 (PIA) -- With the government’s enhanced capacity for COVID-19 testing, the teams of contract tracers from the Dumaguete City Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (DCIATF-EID) and Negros Oriental Police Provincial Office (NOPPO) underwent a two-day training for trainers so the same teams can capacitate the barangay and local contact tracers.
These teams are ready to fully assist and cooperate with the local health department in conducting expanded testing in the local government units (LGUs).
With this, Negros Oriental is set to open next month a COVID-19 molecular testing laboratory at the Integrated Provincial Health Office.
Since Dumaguete City is a major destination for arriving Locally Stranded Individuals, Overseas Filipino Workerss, Authorized Persons Outside of Residence, and Returning Overseas Filipinos, Mayor Felipe Antonio Remollo agreed that the city government will host the training seminar which was held on Aug. 20-21, 2020.
This aims to establish a strong coordination with NOPPO and other LGUs to effectively conduct contact tracing of suspected or confirmed COVID-19 cases for prompt identification, isolation and treatment, said Remollo.
The mayor also met with Police Col. Arnel Banzon of NOPPO to strengthen the coordination of various contact tracers working in concert with the Provincial Task Force-EID to manage the entry of returning residents and keeping the larger population safe from COVID-19 transmission.
City Health Officer Dr. Maria Sarah Talla said that members of the contact tracers team include health workers, policemen, personnel of the Bureau of Fire Protection, local officials, medical technologists, among others.
Aside from contact tracer teams of Dumaguete City and NOPPO, teams from Valencia, Bacong, Sibulan, and Canlaon City attended the seminar workshop with speakers and resource persons from Philippine National Police Region 7.
So far, nine LGUs in the province already have trained Contact Tracing Teams (CTTs) who are expected to identify and monitor suspected persons with known exposure and contact to confirmed COVID-19 cases to mitigate the possibility of contagion.
In Memorandum Circular 2020-073 of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), LGUs are also expected to ensure the functionality of their Ligtas COVID-19 Center or Community Quarantine Facility by ensuring a conducive environment for recovery and with adequate medical personnel, facilities and medicines for COVID-19 patients. (jct/PIA7 Negros Oriental)
Source: Philippines Information Agency (pia.gov.ph)
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