ILOILO City – More than 250 personnel of the Police Regional Office (PRO) 6 and Iloilo Police Provincial Office (IPPO) underwent reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RTC-PCR) test for possible coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection.
Lieutenant Colonel Joem Malong, PRO-6 spokesperson, said 206 policemen belonged to PRO-6 and 63 from the IPPO.
Majority of them came from the Regional Investigation and Detective Management Division, Regional Personnel and Records Management Division and office of the PRO-6 director.
They had their specimens collected yesterday and were advised to self-isolate while waiting for the results, Malong added.
This move, according to Malong, was a precautionary measure to ensure that the police force is COVID-free.
The City Health Office facilitated the swabbing at the PRO-6’s Multipurpose Hall at Camp Delgado in this city.
The RT-PCR test results are expected to be released within three to four days.
On the other hand, police provincial director Colonel Paul Kenneth Lucas, said IPPO remains free from the viral illness.
But he doesn’t want to leave anything to chance and ordered that 30 percent of his men get tested for COVID-19.
“This is our initiative to ensure IPPO safe and free from COVID -19,” Lucas said.
On Tuesday, a female non-uniformed personnel and two police officers tested positive for the virus.
Three offices were locked down for decontamination – those of Regional Police Director, Police Brigadier General Rene Pamuspusan; the Regional Comptrollership Division and Regional Community Affairs and Development Division.
According to Malong, the PRO-6 received the test results of the two policemen and the civilian personnel late Monday afternoon. The three were immediately quarantined.
To date, there are now 19 PRO-6 personnel with COVID-19 since the pandemic started./PN
