ILOILO – Provincial government officials, employees and people with transactions at the provincial capitol are now required to wear facemask and face shield.
Those not heeding this health safety protocol will be barred from entering the capitol, said Atty. Suzette Mamon, acting provincial administrator.
This new policy took effect yesterday as an “additional preventive measure” against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
“We are hosting people here, maayo gid nga safe sila,” said Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr. “Anyway damo naman sa aton may face shield kay if we use public transport ma-face shield ka, so we might as well wear it here.”
Just this Aug. 5, Defensor issued COVID-related guidelines for capitol employees. These included the following:
1. All personnel who are part of contact tracing, on home quarantine or in quarantine facilities and have undergone reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test must strictly comply with the quarantine protocols and instructions issued by the Provincial Health Office (PHO).
2. The PHO, in coordination with the General Services Office (GSO), Human Resource Management and Development Office, and the administrative staff must likewise monitor the compliance of those in No. 1.
3. Personnel with comorbid conditions and those who are 60 years old and above are advised to be on a work-from-home arrangement.
4. Chief of Offices are advised to make alternative work arrangements and coordinate with Dr. Portia Manejero of the capitol clinic on determining and confirming personnel comorbid conditions.
5. Employees who either have fever, cough, sore throat, runny nose, loss of taste or smell, diarrhea or other symptoms associated with the coronavirus disease are advised not to report but instead inform their respective officers of their condition to be referred to Dr. Portia Manejero for tele-consulting or for further management.
6. GSO utility personnel assigned in public areas like elevators, alleys and stairs shall regularly wipe these with disinfectant preferably on an hourly basis.
7. Encourage “less talk, less risk” attitude inside elevators. On the other hand, all offices must maintain daily disinfection measures at their work stations.
8. Chiefs of offices are enjoined to ensure the limited physical movement of personnel inter-office and maximize use of telephone. There should only be one messenger per office that shall bring documents to other offices.
9. Going out of the office and the capitol building during office hours is strictly prohibited, except for official business and with duly accomplished pass slips to be checked by Security Officers upon exit.
As of Aug. 27, the provincial capitol had three COVID-19 cases – a 30-year-old male resident of Barangay Pali Benedicto, Mandurriao, Iloilo City working as a (job hire) utility worker at capitol’s sixth floor; a 28-year-old male resident of Molo, Iloilo City and utility personnel at the capitol ground floor; and a male employee of the Bids and Awards Committee.
People can catch COVID-19 from others who have the virus. The disease can spread from person to person through small droplets from the nose or mouth which are spread when a person with COVID-19 coughs or exhales.
These droplets also land on objects and surfaces around the person. Other people then catch COVID-19 by touching these objects or surfaces, then touching their eyes, nose or mouth./PN
